Scarred Skin and Wounded Hearts
by VamphigherQueen
Summary: A girl with a painful past and a boy with a lonely present. They never show their weaknesses to anyone. What happens when the two bump into one another in the school hallway? Will one brick wall be able to break down another?
1. The Incident

**I do not own Inuyasha or any characters in this fic!**

**Read, Review, enjoy! Thank you for reading my other fics! xoxo**

**-VQ**

* * *

"Kagome? Kagome Higurashi! Are you here? This is Officer Yamada! Please respond."

"I-I'm in the bathroom!" Kagome called back, bloody and shaking. She wasn't sure if she was shaking from fear or the loss of blood.

The officer turned the knob only to find the door was still locked. "It's okay! You can open the door, you're safe."

Kagome hesitantly unlocked the door and two officers slowly came towards her. They gave her looks of concern and one shot her a slight smile and nod to let her know it was okay. Officer Yamada took her by the hand and led her out.

"You're going to be taken to a hospital. After that a few detectives will come and talk to you, okay?" Kagome nodded and looked around. She saw broken objects on the floor and the front door was off the hinges. She was lead to the ambulance and put on a stretcher.

"She's lost a lot of blood." One EMT said. Everything was happening so fast. It was as though she went from bathroom to stretcher to moving ambulance in only a split second. Kagome was too overwhelmed by everything and she fainted in the Ambulance.

* * *

Kagome was taken to the operating room and given 100 stitches altogether for her wounds. As she slowly opened her heavy eyes, she noticed two nurses, a doctor, Sango and her mother, who were both in tears, surrounding her.

"Kagome" The doctor began with a smile. "I'm Dr. Ikeda. Your wounds were successfully stitched and we've put you on an IV. I'm going to give you an iron prescription. Take them twice a day for 30 days, okay?"

Kagome gave the doctor a dazed look. "Uh huh." Her face was pale with trauma and anguish written all over it. Her body felt weak and useless and her heart and mind felt destroyed.

"I'll come back to check on you in a little while." The doctor, along with the two nurses left Kagome, her mother and Sango alone.

Kagome's mother brushed Kagome's hair out of her face and rubbed her cheek. She grasped Kagome's hand as tears rolled down both their faces.

"Mom…I'm so sorry. I caused so much trouble." She whined in a shaky and hurt voice.

Her mother shook her head as the tears fell harder. "Kagome don't apologize! You…you live and you learn. You're not the one to blame. Okay, sweetie?"

Kagome sighed and wiped her eyes. "Okay. Thank you mom."

Sango walked up to Kagome and put her hand on her shoulder. "Kags…I wish I could have been with you today. I know we were supposed to go out a-and I blew you off to study. I end up not studying anyway. I should have been with you." She began to sob, the obvious pain in her eyes. "I should have been with you!"

"No, Sango don't cry!" She pleaded as she cried with her. "It isn't your fault. You still saved me. You called the police. You were still there for me. I'm okay. I love you. Both of you." She diverted her attention to her mother. "Thank you for being there for me."

A knock on the door slightly startled her as two detectives entered the room.

"Hello, Kagome. Is it alright if we speak with you about what happened?" Kagome reluctantly nodded. Sango gave her an optimistic smile and her mother kissed her forehead as the two left the room. The detectives sat down in two chairs beside her.

"Kagome, my name is Detective Sasaki and this is my partner Detective Adachi. We just want to ask you a few questions. Can you tell us what happened?"

"Okay…Well…" Kagome began.

"_Shiro, stop!" Kagome screamed as her boyfriend slashed through her body with a knife. He was holding her down with his legs, hovering over her with a maniacal look on his face. The pain from her wounds was brutal but the fear in her heart overpowered it. _

"_You were fuckin' him weren't you!" He screamed with a cold, evil look in his eyes. It was as though jealousy had completely destroyed the lack of sense he already had and turned him into a psychopath. "I saw the way you looked at him, you bitch! I can't trust you for nothin'! I should kill you right here!"_

_Kagome froze, thinking he was really going to kill her. Her wounds were leaking all over the place. She felt lightheaded and knew she had lost way too much blood. She figured this was the end for her. She looked up at Shiro like he was a monster. Her lip was trembling and tears were rolling down her cheek._

_Suddenly, Shiro's angry face softened. It was as though his personality switched and he spoke softly in Kagome's ear, stroking the side of her cheek as she grimaced slightly. "Kagome…baby. Why do you treat me like this? You know you're __**my girl**__. I'm tired of catching you talking to all these losers. Do you know how that makes me feel? I'm so hurt right now."_

_Kagome figured the only thing she could do was reason with him. She spoke to him just as softly, holding the hand he had on her cheek. "Shiro, those were boys from my class. I was just helping—" He cut her words off by putting the knife to her neck. He was growling and huffing like a beast. It was as though he switched back to his angry monstrous self. Kagome always considered him to be Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde._

"_You don't talk to nobody, you got that bitch! I don't wanna have to warn you again. Stupid girl." Shiro got off her and pushed her off the bed and onto the floor. "Go clean yourself up and get the fuck out my house. I'm not dealing with this right now."_

_Kagome slowly stood as the blood dripped out the slashes on the sides of her body, her left leg and her right arm. 'If I don't go to a hospital, I'm going to die. Enough is enough. I have to end this. Even if I survive, he may…no. He will kill me next time.' She grabbed her bag and went to the bathroom. She locked the door, slumped on the toilet and took out her phone. She put her phone on silent and sent a text to her best friend, Sango. _

"_Shiro hurt me again. Bleeding wnt stop. Plz call the cops." _

_She turned off her phone and sat on the toilet crying when Shiro came banging on the door, causing Kagome to jump. She wished she could just flush herself down the toilet or climb out the bathroom window—if he had one. Kagome was scared of a lot of things: Spiders, heights and even going to hell, but Shiro scared her more than anything._

"_The fuck are you doing in there? Hurry up and get out." He started turning the doorknob as Kagome silently sobbed, hoping the police would hurry up. He banged on the door again causing Kagome's heart to pound as she was gasping for air through her silent cries. 'I don't wanna die' Was all she could repeat in her mind._

"_I know you hear me, Kagome! Open the damn door, you stupid bitch!" He yelled. Shiro always talked to Kagome like she was worthless. She wasn't sure why she put up with his crap for 6 months. In the beginning, he was so sweet. But when they would fight, he would just tell her to shut up and push her. Then it got worse. He started to slap her and punch her. He would call her names and he even cheated on her. Kagome was only 14, she should be happy at this age. Not hiding behind a bathroom door afraid for her life._

_Shiro began picking the lock to the bathroom door. 'Oh, God' Kagome thought. If there was a good time for her to pray, it was now. She put her hands together and closed her eyes tightly. 'God, please help me. I don't want to die here. I'm sorry I didn't listen to my mother and Sango and break up with him sooner. Please save me.' _

_Kagome's prayers were immediately answered as she heard the sirens outside. She then heard a bang and a bunch of feet rush in and struggling on the other side. She continued to sob but was relieved that she was saved. _

"I see." The detective nodded, taking notes. "And this wasn't the first time he has abused you, correct?"

"Yeah. S-Sango convinced me to take pictures of the bruises."

"Sango is the same young lady who called the police?"

"Yes."

"So did you take these photographs as she suggested?"

"S-She took them. I'm not sure what she did with them."

"You plan to press charges, correct?"

"L-Like go to court?"

"Well, yes."

"Um…I-I'm scared."

"Don't worry. You'll have someone with you every step of the way. Would it be alright if we ask Sango for those photographs to bring into evidence for the impending case?"

Kagome silently nodded as the Detectives stood up.

"Thank You, Ms. Higurashi. We'll be in touch. Get better, alright?"

Kagome gave a slight smile and nod as they left. She sighed and rested on her pillow. 'I'm alive. Shiro's going to jail. I'm going to get past this. Someday.' Her body was too weak to stay awake and harp over her problems. She gave in to sleep.

The Detectives walked out of Kagome's hospital room and towards Sango.

Detective Adachi approached her calmly with a slight smile on his face. "You're Sango, correct?"

Sango stood and nodded. "Yes I am."

"Kagome had mentioned to us that you convinced her to save photographs of her previous incidents with the assailant. Do you have those photos?"

"They're saved on my computer."

"Would you be willing to submit them for evidence? Kagome plans to press charges and evidence of prolonged abuse will be very useful."

"Absolutely."

"Alright well" The detective took out his card. "Here's my card. Call me when you're available to submit those photos. Thank you for your cooperation."

Sango grabbed the card and smiled at the detective. "Of course. Anything to help Kagome."


	2. The Therapy

Kagome had seen a therapist every day once a week for three years. It was time for her to start her final year of high school and she was finally able to move on from her trauma. Shiro was sentenced to four years in prison and Kagome was relieved to see him being punished. Her therapist, Dr. Yamaguchi, who she calls Yami, was an amazing woman. She helped Kagome get through school and day-to-day life. Kagome was at the top of her class with a 98.7 average and even took classes on a college campus. She refused to look at herself as a victim because she was flourishing in life despite her circumstances. But when it came to boys, not a single one got the time of day. Every guy was a pervert or another Shiro in her eyes. Her therapist told her that was something that meeting the right guy would easily change. As much as she liked Yami, that was something she wouldn't believe. Kagome envisioned herself as a successful teacher who would live alone with lots of cats. When Yami asked her why she felt so strongly about her love life, she told her

"I don't think it's in my heart to love anymore. I spent so much time dealing with pain like it was a friend of mine. Why bother with love? I'll only have to deal with more pain." Kagome wasn't interested in love, anyway. She still had her family, her best friend Sango and her good grades. She didn't need love to be happy. Her attitude was basically 'fuck everyone else.'

"Kagome, this is our last session. Anything you would like to discuss?"

"Not really. I'm just so grateful to you for helping me."

"Well it's my job. It was my pleasure to help you."

Kagome looked down at the scar on her arm. "The fact that this will never go away kind of bothers me. I don't want to have to explain myself. Sometimes people see it and they do ask. I just say it was an accident and I fell when I was younger."

"It's no one's business. You don't have to disclose anything if you're uncomfortable. Does the scar make you feel any type of pain pertaining to that incident?"

"Not exactly. It happened. I've gotten over it. But now I have scars. They're like stains on my skin. My brother said I should look at myself like a tiger who gained her stripes and be strong."

"That's good advice."

"I love my brother. He's the only guy that has my heart."

"You start school tomorrow, right? Are you ready for senior year?"

"Yes. I'm so excited. I really do love my school. It's so…cultural. Never a dull moment." Kagome giggled.

"Cultural?"

"Well, the demons, half demons…It makes the school interesting."

"Yes that can spice up your life quite a bit, I know that firsthand." Dr. Yamaguchi was the wife of a demon and had two half demon children. So she was serious when she said she knew firsthand.

"I never thought I'd be so happy and feel so whole."

"I'm proud of you. But we are out of time. I'm going to give you a letter to give your school so they know you've successfully completed counseling." She handed Kagome the letter and shot her a smile.

"Thank you so much, Yami."

"You're very welcome. Remember that if you need anything at all, my door is always open and you have my number."

"I'll keep that in mind." Kagome smiled widely and left the office with her spirits high. No more therapy. No more Shiro. No more problems. He was just a thing of the past. She couldn't wait to see what the future had in store for her.


	3. The First Day

It was the first day back to school at Fuji High. Everyone was getting reacquainted with friends and first year students were trying to find their way to orientation. Kagome had shown up with Sango and the two went to their lockers.

Sango stared at Kagome's program card with a disappointed look on her face. "I can't believe we only have lunch period together. This is your fault, Kagome! If you weren't so damn smart maybe we'd have one class together."

Kagome laughed at her friend's false anger. "Sorry! Maybe next term we'll have art together. I still need an elective."

As Kagome and Sango were chatting, the guys from the hockey team were standing nearby watching them.

"Damn, Kagome is so hot!" Koga said, practically drooling.

"She really does have a nice body. And she's smart too. A double whammy." Miroku agreed.

"I'd love to double whammy that ass!" Koga admitted, laughing.

The guys were laughing, giving each other high fives.

"You guys are fucking disgusting." Inuyasha huffed.

"Aww come on bro! It's not like she gives anybody the time of day anyway. She's like the biggest bitch in the whole school. But I'd still like to bang. There's no ass around school grounds that compares to hers." Koga said, nudging Inuyasha.

"She's pretty. So what? You don't see my dick flying out of my pants. You guys are disgusting as I said before."

"I think you're intimidated, Inuyasha." Miroku spoke up.

"Intimidated why?" He asked, almost insulted.

"Come on, man!" Ginta cut in. "They call her Kagome HigurNOTshi. Because **not** one person in the entire world has a chance with her."

"But she used to go out with Shiro in middle school. That was the last time I've seen her with a guy." Koga stated.

"That was the last time I saw Shiro." Ginta said.

"Maybe she killed him?" Hakkaku suggested.

"No way, she doesn't seem like the murderous type." Koga defended her.

"Naw, I think she's a lesbian. She's always with Sango. And Sango is a tomboy." Hakkaku added.

"A sexy tomboy. I'd fuck that roughness out of her." Miroku said, biting his lip.

"Sango would probably chop your balls off before you even got close." Koga sneered.

Sango was the most skilled martial artist in Fuji High. No one, human or demon would challenge her.

"I don't really give a shit about any of this." Inuyasha sighed, leaning his head against the wall, bored from the conversation.

"I don't know, guys…" Miroku started. "Inuyasha is quite the ladies man around here. He might be able to pull Kagome."

Koga rolled his eyes. "I'd like to see her give you the time of day, mutt."

"What difference would it make?" He asked, getting annoyed with his teammates.

"Just go over there and talk to her!" Miroku shoved him hard and he bumped right into Kagome, knocking her books out of her hand.

"I-I'm so sorry." He said gently, helping her pick up her books.

"Geez, did you have a fifth of vodka before you came to school this morning? You just stumbled into me like a mindless drunkard. What's with you?" Kagome grumbled, snatching her books out of his hand.

Inuyasha looked at her like he was appalled. 'Is she always this cranky?' He thought as he handed her the last book on the floor. "Damn it I said I was sorry! If I had known you were this fucking rude I would've _stumbled_ into something less dangerous like a moving car."

Kagome couldn't help but laugh at his comment. "Okay, all is forgiven. Just watch where you're going next time!" They both stared at each other. Inuyasha studied her pretty, still slightly angry face and big brown eyes. One was half covered by a bang connected to long, raven black hair. She was a thin, but curvy girl with beautiful silky skin. He noticed that she carried a very nice scent, but deep in her scent mingled remnants of anxiety, unrest and sadness.

His attention was brought to her jacket. "Hey…that's the jacket for the Osaka Middle School hockey team!"

"Oh, yeah. My brother is on the team. I go to his games and sometimes I…kind of help him practice." She giggled nervously.

"I played on that team. Now I play for our school's team."

Kagome nodded. "I know. You're Inuyasha. The right wingman _and _MVP? I know. I see you around school sometimes and I've seen your picture in paper."

"And you're Kagome, right?" He said with a smile.

She raised an eyebrow and gave him a mischievous smile. "Uh oh. You knowing my name can't be the best thing."

"You can blame my ears. I can hear everything, you know." He pointed to them as they wiggled.

Kagome laughed and they continued to converse as his friends looked on, mouths agape.

"I told you." Miroku said, leaning against the wall. "I know my best friend."

"I can't believe this." Koga said angrily. "I've been after her for so fucking long and he gets her just like that?" He said with a snap of his finger.

"Sorry I was so rude to you before." She said sincerely apologetically, looking down.

Inuyasha waved his hand and shook off her apology. "Don't mention it. I did practically fly into you and if it were the other way around, I would've reacted the same way."

"I guess."

"So, What's your first class?" Inuyasha asked, looking at his program card.

"Chemistry." Kagome groaned.

"You have Dr. Kaede as a teacher?"

She looked down at her program card and nodded.

"Well then let me walk you to class."

"O-Okay! See you later, Sango." She hugged her friend and went off to class.


	4. A quiet Place To Study

"Hey, beautiful." A boy smoothly walked up to Kagome.

This is the only thing Kagome didn't miss about school: The stupid guys that always tried to talk to her. And it was the first year students this time around.

"Are you serious? Get out of here! You smell like moldy cheese!" She made a disgusted face and pushed him out the way to go sit down with Sango.

Another guy was walking up to their table. He pushed his hair back and sat across from Kagome.

"Hey." He spoke slyly

"Leave." Sango ordered.

"I'm not talking to you." He spat.

"Well I'm talking to you." She threw a grape at his face. "Now get moving before I break your head!"

"Bitch." He whispered under his breath as he stood up.

"You mind speaking up so I can hear you?" Sango asserted, slowly standing up.

The guy quickly walked off before he got himself into something dangerous.

* * *

Inuyasha was sitting at a table outside alone reading his class notes when a group of girls came up to him.

"Come the fuck on" He said under his breath.

"Hey, Inu!"

"Can I touch your ears?"

"Inuyashaaaa let me play with your hair babe"

"Hey what are you doing later on?"

Inuyasha sighed. "Don't you women have something better to do? No. You can't touch me, my hair, my ears or any part of me. And what'll I be doing later? Strolling into the land of none-of-your-fucking-business. Now leave me alone. I don't have time for this." He said rudely as he walked away and went inside.

"He's such a freaking jerk!" One girl cried out.

"But so hot!" Another girl added, biting her lip sexually.

"Yeah, all the things I wanna do to him." The first girl agreed, sighing heavily with a dazed look on her face.

"He's gonna go pro. I wanna marry him!" A third girl said.

"Oh and he's so rich too! Have you seen his car? He's so perfect! I need a guy like him." The fourth girl said, sounding almost desperate.

Inuyasha angrily walked through the lunchroom ignoring everyone. 'I just want a quiet place to fucking study without someone trying to suck my dick.' He thought to himself.

"Hey, Inuyasha!" Kagome called out.

Her familiar voice caught his ears as he turned to the side and waved at her. "Yo! What's goin' on?"

"Not much. Where are you headed in such a rush?"

"I have to get away from this noise so I can concentrate on my work."

Kagome nodded in understanding. "Well I don't want to hold you up. Talk to you later."

"See ya." He continued on his way out of the lunchroom, looking for a good spot to work.


	5. On The Same Page

**Hey hey hey guize. This whole story is actually already written lol I'm just editing the chapters a few at a time before I post them. So every day I'll try to have a few chaps up because I really like this fic and want to share it :)**

**PS: I know there's quite a bit...okay a lot of OOCness and it's gonna become more obvious throughout the chapters. but enjoy!**

**Keep on reviewing!**

**-VQ**

* * *

Kagome was on the school roof smoking a cigarette. During her rough patch, she picked up a bad habit that she just couldn't kick. She knew it would kill her but we all die eventually so it didn't make a difference to her. She had finished classes for the day and was waiting for Sango to finish her last class so they could leave together. She took another pull of the cigarette and blew the smoke in the air before throwing it off the roof. She started to pull another one out of her pack when…

"You shouldn't smoke those, you know. They're really toxic." A voice said behind her.

Kagome turned around to see Inuyasha walking towards her and gave him a small grin. "Yeah, well life is toxic. What are you doing up here anyway?"

"I'm still trying to find a quiet place to study. Turns out this place is occupied."

"Well not really. Why are you having so much trouble finding a place to study? Why don't you just go home?"

He shook his head and looked down. "I can't. My brother is having his bachelor party at home and that's a disturbance. And here, all these girls are a disturbance. They won't stop following me around. 'Oh let me help you study!' 'I can teach you!' 'Let's have sex!' It's so fucking annoying." He replied in a frustrated tone.

Kagome laughed at his response. "That sounds like a real problem." Kagome's phone rang and she reached in her bag to get it. She had an unread text from Sango.

_"Kags, little brother's in the hospital cuz he broke his leg. My mom came to get me so I'll catch you tomorrow."_

'Poor Kohaku.' She thought. "Well it looks like I'll be going home alone." She sighed.

"I could uh…drive you home…you know. If you want." Inuyasha spoke up nervously.

Kagome's frown quickly turned upside down. "You would do that? I really don't like traveling by myself."

"How come?"

Kagome shrugged and smiled. "Eh…I just don't. Makes me a bit uncomfortable."

"Okay. Well I parked right out front so…ready?"

Kagome nodded and followed him downstairs to his car.

* * *

She stared at his car in amazement. The fancy sleek black car had her in disbelief. "You drive a Lamborghini to school? Are you insanely rich or something!"

"Well…not exactly. My brother gave me this car for my birthday last year." He opened the butterfly doors with his car remote. "Ladies first."

Kagome slid into the passenger's seat and Inuyasha went around to the other side. He pushed his car remote button again as the doors shut. She studied the upholstery and the dashboard. She had never been inside such a fancy and expensive car. She told Inuyasha her address and he punched it into his GPS system.

"So what is it that you were trying to study for? It's our first day and you already have a test?" Kagome asked as he drove off.

"Yeah. My jackass Global history teacher gave us a lecture and said we have a quiz tomorrow. I have to keep my grades up so I can maintain my average and continue playing on the team."

"I took Global history in my first year. I'm taking college history at the campus down the road on Saturdays."

Inuyasha smirked. 'I knew she was smart but damn.' "Keh! Lucky you! History isn't my best subject. All these facts go in one ear and out the other."

Kagome shook her head and smiled. "Maybe…I could tutor you. I mean it's the least I can do since you're driving me home."

He was surprised by her kindness. "Really? Keeping my grades up was the most important thing to my mother when she was alive. She died from cancer when I was 9 but I vowed to always keep my grades up and make her proud. I know I'm gonna fail this quiz without some serious buckling down."

Kagome was surprised herself. From what she had heard, he wasn't generous or kind and was even considered heartless. He wasn't that kind of guy at all. "Wow. I'm sure she's very proud."

Inuyasha smiled at Kagome as they pulled up at her house. He looked around the area, somewhat confused. "Which one is your house?"

"Up there." She pointed to the shrine steps.

"Oh, you live at a shrine. That's cool." Inuyasha opened the doors and the two got out as he used his remote to shut them and lock his car. He followed Kagome up the steps to her house and looked around at the nice, tranquil area she lived in.

She unlocked her door and greeted her cat with a few pats on the head. "I'm home!" She shouted, but no one was there to respond. "Hmm. Guess nobody's here. Come on let's go upstairs." Kagome led Inuyasha to her room.

He looked around at her cute room. There were posters and pictures all around. The scent in her room seemed to be a bit sadder than she did. He wanted to know who—or what hurt her so badly. She offered him a seat at her desk as she took off her jacket and put it down. She went off to take the desk chair out of her brother's room.

Kagome came rolling in on the other chair as she bumped into everything along the way. "I bet my driving skills would be this bad too." She said in jest.

Inuyasha laughed at her comment. 'She's really not as bad as people make her out to be. She's the complete opposite.'

* * *

Kagome spent an hour and a half tutoring Inuyasha. She was glad to see he was absorbing the work so easily. It was probably because he was interested and really wanted to pass that quiz.

"So you're good with everything now?"

Inuyasha nodded as he closed his book. "Thanks to you, I'll probably ace this quiz. I really appreciate it."

"It was no trouble. I felt like I owed you since you drove me home." Kagome smiled and played with her hair.

Inuyasha noticed the scar running down her arm and didn't want to ask about it…but Kagome caught his eyes on it.

"Oh this? It's nothing. I just…fell a few years back. Clumsy me." She laughed nervously, covering the scar with her hand.

Inuyasha let out a slight chuckle "You…fell? You know, not all hockey players are stupid. Only the rest of my team is."

Kagome laughed nervously again. "Seriously, I've fallen and hurt myself all the time! I'm just a clumsy girl. I almost tripped when I got out of bed this morning."

He gave a slow nod and decided to drop the subject. "I see." 'She doesn't wanna talk about it. I won't push it. Whatever it is.'

Kagome's phone rang and she quickly rushed to pick it up. "Hey Sango! Not much…oh yeah I'm fine! Inuyasha drove me home…yeah I know. How's Kohaku?...I see. Well what happened to him?...A fight?...Seriously? Well as long as he's gonna be okay. Are you coming to school tomorrow?...No no it's fine. I'll figure it out…Okay…love you too." She hung up her phone and sighed.

Inuyasha leaned forward in the chair. He didn't like the sound of the sigh and grew worried. "Everything okay?"

"Well, not exactly. Sango will be staying at home for the next three days taking care of her brother since his leg got broken during a fight. That leaves me by myself for the next couple of days. She's really the only friend I have. I don't mesh with other people that much."

"Yeah, Me neither."

"What are you going on about? You have a whole pack of teammates to hang out with!"

"I know. But I don't…'mesh' with them. They're annoying. Well, Hiten is cool but he doesn't hang out with us. His girlfriend's one of those 'you can only spend time with me' types. I always have Miroku to hang with but he's always busy chasing skirts so we really only hang out outside of school."

"Oh." Kagome knew of Miroku. He was the biggest lecher in the whole school. He had harassed every girl at least once. He was a very smart and sweet guy, but his perverted ways overshadowed his personality. 'He's probably busy chasing all the first year girls around.' She thought, with a look of disgust on her face.

Inuyasha looked off to the side and started flipping the pages of his book. "Can I tell you something, honestly?"

Kagome put her hands on her hips. "What, the guys at school told you I was a bitch?" She asked bluntly.

Inuyasha almost choked on his own words. "W-well I wasn't gonna put it that—"

"I know what people say about me. 'Kagome is the biggest bitch in the whole school but she's _soooo_ hot'. They call me 'KaNOme' and 'HigurNOTshi' because I don't want to talk to any of them. I'm not a lesbian. I have guy friends. Well. I have one guy friend. Hojo, and now you, I suppose. I just don't want to be bothered by all the nonsense!"

"What nonsense?"

"All the 'Hey baby' 'What's going on beautiful' 'Let me take you on a date' 'You should call me'" She said in a deep voice with her eyes crossed, mimicking all the guys she's encountered.

Inuyasha busted out laughing from her imitations. "Yeah that's some shit. Don't worry about it. Some guys can't control their hormones and every time they see a beautiful girl, they just lose it."

Kagome began to blush from the compliment. "I'm surprised you even had a conversation with me after what your friends have said…and especially after I was so rude this morning."

"I really wasn't going to bother you until Miroku pushed me into you. But your jacket caught my attention and when I realized you were really nice, I wanted to be friends with you."

"I'm not _that _nice." She countered.

"I dunno, you seem pretty sweet to me. But it's not a big deal. You're just nice to whoever's nice to you. Your secret's safe with me." He promised with a wink. "But I'm the same way. I know you've heard things about me."

"Yeah" Kagome chuckled "Girls say 'You're the biggest jerk in Fuji High but every girl wants to sleep with you because you're the guy of their dreams and you're popular.'"

Inuyasha sighed and put his face in his palm. "All these years you thought I was a jerk?"

"Sango and I never bought it because the only girls that complained about you being a jerk were the loose ones. I figured if they'd stop acting so cheap, maybe you'd talk to one of them."

"Maybe, but I really don't have time for that shit. I have yet to meet a girl with pure intentions. One that isn't after money or looks or a social status."

"You sound like me. I don't have time for guys because they all approach me the same way so I know they all want the same thing. I'm saving myself for the right person."

Inuyasha nodded in agreement. It was good to know someone was on the same page as him. "Me too."

"You're a virgin?" Kagome was shocked and her jaw dropped.

"Why does that surprise you?" He asked in an indignant tone.

"Sorry! I-It's nothing personal." She explained. "It's just that you're the only guy I know that is! It's usually 'sex this and girls that and gotta get some tonight!'"

"I save myself for my own sanity. Girls just want to get pregnant by me for money. " He responded with an exasperated sigh.

"Well you do drive a nice car. I was taken aback by it."

Inuyasha shook his head in denial. "I'm not even the wealthy one! My brother inherited his shares of our father's company when he passed away. I was just a baby when my father had a heart attack. My brother is 15 years older than me and he's been running the company for a while. I don't get my shares until I turn 18 so technically I'm not the rich one."

"So both your parents have passed…and you live with your brother?"

"Well, yeah, except he's hardly ever home. If I see him, it's in passing. I practically live alone—with the exception of the butler."

Kagome thought about Inuyasha's situation. 'Money really can't buy happiness.'

The two sat in silence staring at each other.

Kagome looked at his dog ears again, then his white hair, his amber eyes and his fangs. "You know I kind of forgot about the fact that you were a demon."

"Half demon. My mother was a human."

"My mother is a human too." Kagome said with a laugh.

Inuyasha chuckled. "You're a funny girl, you know." He said while standing. "I really should get going. It's getting kind of late and I didn't sleep last night because my brother and his fiancé's sex noises kept me up."

Kagome stood with him. "Okay. I guess I'll see you tomorrow in class, then."

"Don't you need a ride to school in the morning?"

Kagome didn't really know what to say. She didn't want to say no but she didn't want to be a burden either. "You really don't have to."

Inuyasha waved his hand. "I feel like I still owe you for helping me study. Come on it's no trouble." He felt bad for her because she would have to travel alone and he also knew she seemed to have something else going on. He wanted to get to know her and maybe help her with whatever her problem was.

"Uh…" Kagome was so surprised she could meet a kind person other than Sango—and a guy at that! She felt like she really had a friend in Inuyasha. "Sure!"

"Okay. Here." He handed her his phone. "Put your number in."

Kagome programmed her number in his phone and called herself so she'd have his number. She handed him back his phone and programmed his in hers.

"Now that I have your number, I can bother you all the time and you can make me laugh." He said with a slight smile.

Kagome smiled back. "I'm not even funny!"

Inuyasha shrugged. "I think you're hilarious."

She blushed and looked down. "Uh…let me walk you out."

The two left her house and walked down the steps to his car. When they got downstairs, they noticed Kagome's brother standing by it.

"I knew this was your car!" Sota said. "What are you doing here?" Inuyasha and Sota gave each other a high five.

Kagome stared at them in complete confusion. Why is the guy from her school acting so familiar with her little brother? "Wait! You two _know_ each other?"

"Yeah! I didn't know Sota was your brother! Last year, our team played with the middle school team. It was part of some big brother community service." Inuyasha turned to Sota. "Your sister was helping me study."

Sota nodded with a smile on his face. "You can always count on Kagome! She helps me study and helps me practice playing too! You should come to the rink with us next time we practice."

Inuyasha gave Kagome a sly look. "It'd be awesome to see a girl play hockey. Let me know when you're going."

"You got it! See you later." Sota ran up the steps of the Shrine to the house.

Inuyasha opened his doors and got in the car. "So I'll see you tomorrow morning, right? I'll pick you up at 8."

Kagome nodded. "See you tomorrow!"

He waved, closed his doors and began to drive off. Kagome sighed in exhaustion and went upstairs to change and relax.


	6. Call me?

After Kagome had dinner, she did her homework, helped Sota finish his homework and went to sleep. She only slept for a short while because her mind was too haunted by nightmares of Shiro. The flashbacks didn't happen often, but when they did, they kept her up for a few hours. She lied in her bed playing Angry Birds on her phone when her game was interrupted by a text from Inuyasha.

"_Goodnight :D"_

Kagome smiled wide from the text and didn't hesitate to respond with a _"Goodnight =)"_

She wasn't tired, but figured he was. Sango's brother needed a lot of care and attention so she didn't want to bother her. She expected she'd be up all night playing games on her phone until she fell out.

To her surprise, she received another text from Inuyasha.

"~_.~"_

She laughed at the fact that all he was doing was sending her faces and sent one back. _"O_o"_

After a few moments, he sent her another message.

"_I can't sleep for shit lol I slept for like an hr -_-"_

Kagome was relieved that she wasn't the only one awake and it kept her mind off her Shiro nightmares. The one time she normally felt lonely was when she had those dreams. She felt like Inuyasha was a really good friend. If it weren't for him, she'd be outside smoking a cigarette—or three to ease the pain.

"_You too? Lol :\ call me? "_ She just wanted to see if he'd call. She felt really lonely.

After a minute and a half, he did call. She let it ring for a second because she didn't want to seem too desperate for someone to talk to.

"Hi" Kagome answered the phone with a wide smile on her face, but tried to keep cool and not sound too happy about him calling.

Inuyasha could still tell she was smiling and he was relieved. 'As long as she's smiling, she's okay.' "What's up Kagome? Why aren't you sleep?'

"I'm…not really sure. I'm just having trouble getting a good night's rest. What about you? Why are you up?"

"My brother's still partying downstairs. Every 20 minutes I hear something break or someone shouting and it wakes me back up." He sighed on the other side of the phone.

"Oh. Well why didn't you just join the party until you felt like passing out?"

Inuyasha chuckled slightly. "Eh…I dunno. Doesn't seem like my kind of party. Too much booze and strippers."

"Sounds like my kind of party! Be right over."

Inuyasha laughed at her jokes. "See, you always keep me laughing."

Kagome giggled. "I try."

There was a momentary silence on each end of the phone.

"You wanna know what's keeping me up more than the noise?"

"What is it?" She asked in a curious tone.

More silence.

"I had a dream about you."

"You're kidding!"

"Seriously, Kagome. I had a dream that you were crying. That's why I texted you. I'm kind of…glad to know you're okay."

Kagome was partly touched by his concern and partly confused about what made him so worried about her. "So subconsciously, you worry about me? Why?"

"Because I know you weren't telling me the truth about that scar on your arm."

'Maybe I should tell him.' She thought, and then quickly shook the idea out of her head. 'What am I thinking? I hardly know him well enough to trust him!' "There's not really much to tell."

The two sat silently on each end of the phone.

"I'm not a psychic, or even a psychiatrist. But I can read into things. Kagome. Why did you want me to call you tonight?"

"I…felt kind of lonely."

"Do you trust me, then?"

"Dunno. I want to. It's just not easy."

"Well whatever it takes—I'm gonna make you trust me. I want you to be able to talk to me."

"I am talking to you."

"There's a lot about you that you won't tell me until you really trust me. I don't want you to feel like you have to hide things from me."

"But we just met."

"When's the last time you were on the phone with someone—a guy, this late? I think the fact that we just met today is really irrelevant."

Kagome sat silent for a moment. Nice guys don't exist to her. Nice guys aren't real. The only time guys were nice was when they were pretending to be nice in order to gain something. So she started to question his motives. "Why do you care so much about me?"

"You're one of my friends right? I don't call a lot of people friends and I treat the ones I have the same way. I want you to trust me because I care about you."

"I want you to trust me too. But you really don't have to care about me so much."

"Is caring at all considered caring too much?"

Kagome couldn't argue with that. "Not really." Maybe this is just the person that he is. Maybe he _is_ a nice guy. Maybe.

"I know. Some things take time."

"What would you be doing if I didn't ask you to call me?"

"I would have called you anyway. I told you I was concerned."

"Okay. What if I didn't respond to your text?"

"I would've been looking at pictures of my mom until I fell asleep."

Kagome understood the pain of losing a parent. It hurt her to know what he was dealing with. "You really seem to miss your mom."

"I still haven't gotten over the fact that she died. That makes it even harder to be with any girl. Especially when I'm mourning the loss of the most important woman in the world."

"I've been having trouble getting over the loss of my dad, too. It seemed like a lot started to fall apart when he passed away."

"I know what you mean. It's been hard for me to trust anyone. And what Kikyo did to me really put the icing on the cake."

"What happened?" Kagome knew Kikyo personally. Something about her always gave her the creeps. Kikyo was into dark comedy and always did all these morbid drawings instead of doing her work when they had math class together. Sometimes she would draw pictures of different ways to murder their teacher then pass them to her. What did he see in that weirdo?

"We dated for a year before she graduated. I was so happy with her. I-I wanted to marry her. I told her how much I loved her and that I'd do anything to make her happy. She told me she felt the same way. A week later, I was at her house and all I saw was travel brochures all over her room. A month before she graduated, she told me she was going to study abroad and our relationship was stifling her artistic abilities."

Kagome frowned at the thought. Kikyo must have been very fortunate to have a _good _guy who wanted to be with her and loved her. She thought it was stupid that Kikyo walked away from Inuyasha like that. "You should have left her when she had all those travel brochures."

"I knew she was leaving. I feel like she was studying abroad to get away from me. I know her family didn't like the idea of her being with a half breed. I guess she was ashamed of me. I just didn't wanna lose her. I was so lonely without my mother. I still am. But now I'm just like fuck it. I don't wanna let any other girl into my heart. They're all the same."

"Not all girls are like that."

"Not all guys are like the ones at our school."

"I don't believe you."

"I don't believe you either. So we're even."

Kagome giggled. "I suppose we are."

"So what about your last relationship? What made you think all guys are the same?"

"It didn't really work out the way I wanted it to…I loved him. He didn't love me the way I thought he did. He wasn't a quality person. I stuck by him longer than I should have. When enough was enough, I finally got away." 'That's technically what happened.' She thought to herself.

Inuyasha knew Kagome used to date Shiro. He knew the type of person Shiro was; the guy had a few screws loose. He couldn't understand why she loved him at the time. He was thinking to himself, wondering what could have happened between them and why Shiro disappeared during their last year of middle school. 'But regardless of what happened, Kagome stuck by him. That's not the type of girl you take advantage of.'

"Inuyasha?"

"Huh?"

"You tired?"

"Not really. You?"

"A little. I don't wanna fall asleep on you."

"It's okay if you do." Inuyasha looked over at the clock. 12:46. He was used to going to bed later than this and still getting up for class.

There was silence for about 20 minutes. Inuyasha just laid in bed relaxing, trying to fall asleep but finding it difficult because of all the noise downstairs.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome spoke in a half sleep, practically exhausted voice.

"Yeah?"

"Oh. I wanted to see if you were still up."

Inuyasha smiled. He liked having her on the other side of the phone. It was like she was there with him and he didn't feel so lonely. "Yeah. I'm up."

After a while, Inuyasha could hear Kagome's breathing even out and knew she was asleep. The party downstairs began to calm down so Inuyasha put his phone on the other pillow in his bed and went to sleep.


	7. Getting Ready

**oooo thanks for the reviews. Glad you guys are getting into it! Continue to review and give feedback. As promised, I'm trying to do 3 chaps per update. I refuse to disappoint :)**

**-VQ**

**P.S: If you haven't already, read my lastest completed story _THE LAKE._ D**

* * *

Kagome was woken up by her alarm at 6 on the dot. She groaned, hit the snooze button and realized there was something hard under her face.

'I really fell asleep on him. Literally.' She thought, pulling her phone off her face.

"Oh great. It's dead. Well, I might as well get up now." Kagome put her phone in the charger and took her sweet time getting ready, since Inuyasha wasn't coming to pick her up for two hours, and her class didn't start for three.

* * *

Inuyasha was woken up by a knock on his door. "Master Inuyasha, I have come to wake you up as requested. Would you like breakfast?" The butler called out.

Inuyasha groaned and sat up. "No thanks."

"As you wish, sir."

Inuyasha yawned and turned to check his phone. "Why am I not surprised that it's dead?"

He looked around for his spare battery. He switched the batteries and turned on his phone. It immediately buzzed from an unread text from Kagome.

"_Good morning ^_^ sorry I fell asleep on u last night. -_- c u in a little while!"_

Inuyasha smiled while he read the message. 'Sure is a good morning.' He thought as he texted Kagome back.

Inuyasha knew he didn't really have a lot of time to get ready since Kagome lived 40 minutes away from him. He put his phone down and hopped in his personal shower.

* * *

Kagome got out of the shower and put on her blue school skirt and white button down shirt. She sat on her bed and checked her phone. There were two unread texts and a missed call from Sango. One text was from Sango and the other was from Inuyasha. Kagome laughed at the text from Sango.

"_Did you take any of my bras? lol Call me back."_

She then read the text from Inuyasha with a big smile on her face.

"_Good morning :D lol don't worry bout it. See ya soon. :P" _

She was really excited to see him since they had bonded so much last night. It was nice to be able to grow close to someone.

She called Sango back and she picked up on the first ring.

"Hey Kags."

"Hey! What's going on? Everything okay?"

"Yes. I just wanted to make sure you were alright going to school. I'm sorry I feel like I'm bailing on you."

"No, it's fine. It can't be helped. I'm going to stop by later on and check on Kohaku. But Inuyasha is driving me to school until you come back."

"Inuyasha is really a cool guy. I'm glad he's not a douche like everyone said."

"Yeah he's really nice but you know how rumors go in Fuji."

"Sure do."

"They're almost always false." The two said at the same time while laughing.

"Well I don't wanna hold you up, Kags. Text me throughout the day. I'm gonna be pretty bored since all Kohaku does is sleep from the painkillers."

"Of course! I'll see you later. Love you."

"Love you too."

Kagome hung up the phone with a smile on her face. Sango always knew how to make her happy. No one could ever take her place. She was like the sister she never had.

She glanced at her phone's screen and noticed the time. "It's 7:55 already?" Kagome quickly put on her shoes, brushed her long black hair nicely and grabbed her bag. She rushed downstairs to say good morning and goodbye to her family.

* * *

Inuyasha was only a few blocks from Kagome's when his phone rang. He answered with his Bluetooth.

"Yo."

"Good morning, brother." It was Miroku. He and Inuyasha had declared themselves sworn brothers in middle school. He was the only guy that ever saw Inuyasha cry (as a teenager) and they were closer than close.

Inuyasha smiled when he heard his best friend's voice. If there was anyone he could trust, it was that guy. "What's goin on, brother?"

"I'm walking onto campus for my class. What are you up to?"

"I'm on my way to pick up Kagome."

"WHAT? Are you serious, man?"

Inuyasha's smile fell flat. "What's the big deal? Sango's gonna be absent for a few days so I offered to drive her so she wouldn't be alone."

"It's not that. It's just…well…it's Kagome! No guys get to talk to Kagome."

"It's 'cause you're all perverts and she doesn't like being talked to like that."

"So…you're planning to hook up with her?"

"No! It's not like that! We're just getting to know each other and she's really nice." He fired as he started to get irritated by all the questioning. Why couldn't he just have a female friend without everyone bugging him about it?

"Do you like her, Inuyasha?"

"I don't look at her that way! Stop badgering me about it."

"You're still not over Kikyo. Is that it?"

Miroku seemed to have struck a nerve as Inuyasha sighed and calmed down. "I-I dunno. I just wanna focus on school and hockey. Kagome's a nice person. She's a friend to me. Damn why can't guys and girls just be friends?"

"I just have a feeling deep down you two can't just be friends."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes as he parked his car. "Whatever you say, Miroku. Listen I'll see you later I just pulled up at Kagome's."

"Alright brother, catch you later."

* * *

"Sorry, Mom. I really gotta go. Inuyasha's waiting for me!"

"Inuyasha?" Sota butted in.

"Yes, Sota." Kagome said in a frustrated tone.

"Do you two go out?"

"No, Sota." Kagome answered, sounding more frustrated.

"Inuyasha is a very nice young man. I met him at the end of one of Sota's practice games last year." Kagome's mother had a strange smile on her face, almost as if she approved of something. "Well, have a good day."

Kagome looked at her mother suspiciously then quickly ignored her weird smile. "Oookay, see you guys later. Bye Grandpa!"

"Have a good day, dear" He spoke up from behind his newspaper.

Kagome rushed out the house and went down the shrine steps to see Inuyasha standing outside his car.

"Hi. Sorry to keep you."

"I haven't really been here too long." He smirked.

Inuyasha opened the doors and gestured for Kagome to get in. She sat in the passenger's seat and he got in soon after, closed the doors and drove off.

"So it's 8:05 and we don't have class for an hour. I'm hungry. You wanna stop and get some breakfast?"

Kagome felt around in her bag, only to notice she forgot her wallet in a rush. "I don't have any money."

"So?"

"Sooo how am I supposed to pay?"

"You're not supposed to pay." Inuyasha said while laughing.

"You don't have t—"

"Stop it, will ya? It's no big deal. There's a restaurant near school called Chi. Ever been there?"

"No, I've walked past it a few times. Don't you need a reservation?"

Inuyasha shot Kagome a smile. "Yeah. You do."

Kagome glared at him. "So you made us reservations for breakfast? What _exactly _are you up to?"

Inuyasha turned from the road for a second to shoot her a confused face. "Up to? Shit! I would have gone without you. I told you I was hungry and if you don't eat, you die, right? I'm not doing anything special here."

Kagome decided to stop being so rude and accept his kindness, especially since her stomach was growling anyway.

They pulled up at the restaurant and went inside.

"Good morning sir, do you have a reservation?"

"Yeah, last name Taisho."

"Ah, Mr. Taisho, right this way." The Maitre D' showed them to their table. Inuyasha pulled out Kagome's chair and sat down.

Kagome looked at her menu in confusion. "Okay can you tell me why pancakes are $47? I could make pancakes for an entire class for this price."

"Who cares? I'd pay $4,000 for half an egg right now. Get whatever you want." Inuyasha replied, shrugging.

Kagome giggled. She felt very comfortable around Inuyasha. Maybe not all guys were so bad.

* * *

Miroku had a substitute teacher in his first period English class and everyone was talking amongst themselves in the classroom. He was sitting next to Koga and Hakkaku.

"Inuyasha is where?" Koga growled, slamming his fist on the table.

"He is with Kagome. He says they've become good friends."

"Friends? Yeah right!" Hakkaku argued. "He's probably boning her in his lambo as we speak."

"Inuyasha isn't like that. You all know that." Miroku vouched for his best friend.

Koga nodded "Yeah. He's probably never gonna try to bang. He should just pass her over to me. I'd fuck that attitude out of her." He boasted.

"Hey guys what's happenin'?" Hiten said as he walked up to them.

"Look who finally decided to chill with us." Koga said sarcastically.

"My girl's not here today." He sighed sadly. "But what's goin' on with you guys?"

"We were just talking about Inuyasha and the Higurashi girl." Hakkaku spoke up.

"What about 'em?" Hiten asked, with an eyebrow raised in interest.

"He's boning her bro! What else?" Hakkaku elaborated.

"We don't know _what_ he is up to." Miroku cut in. "He claims his intentions with her are strictly platonic. I guess time will tell."


	8. Coupley

Inuyasha and Kagome happily walked out the restaurant.

"I'm so full!" Kagome admitted, holding her stomach

"So am I. Let's walk this off."

The two slowly walked towards the school, enjoying the beautiful weather outside and each other's company.

"Thank you again, Inuyasha. That was fun."

"No need to thank me. Friends do nice things for each other. You know. You tutor me, I get you breakfast…"

"You give me rides, I tell you jokes…"

Inuyasha chuckled. "See? So it's no big deal, like I said before."

They headed into the school five minutes before class was about to start and began walking towards the classroom when…

"Pardon us." Miroku said to Kagome as he, along with Koga, Ginta, Hakkaku and Hiten pulled Inuyasha to the side.

Kagome stood baffled as her friend was rudely whisked away by a bunch of jerks.

Inuyasha's teammates circled him like they were about to do an intervention.

"So what were you two doing?" Ginta questioned.

"And where were you doing it?" Hakkaku added.

"Are you guys fucking serious? Why can't I just be friends with Kagome without you idiots bothering me all the time?" Inuyasha walked away angrily. "Don't ask again."

He walked back up to Kagome. "Sorry about that." He apologized as continued walking to class.

"What was _that_ about?" She asked, somewhat upset that his friends could be so disrespectful.

"They keep bothering me because they're immature and think we're dating just 'cause we hang out." He said, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

Kagome snickered. "That's ridiculous!" She cried out, until a sinister idea popped into her head. "Hey you know what? We should mess with their heads."

"How?"

"Let's do something…I don't know…"coupley" in front of them." She suggested, making bunny ears with her fingers when mentioning the word "coupley."

Inuyasha thought about it for a moment. He wouldn't care if people thought Kagome was his girlfriend. He wouldn't even mind if she was his real girlfriend. Then he thought about what a weird word coupley was. 'Coupley' he laughed in his head. "Would it bother you if people other than them see?"

"It'll be better for both of us. I don't intend on seeing anyone—especially here. And obviously, neither do you. So who cares?" She replied, shrugging and feeling carefree about the idea.

Inuyasha nodded. "Let's do it."


	9. Chemistry In Chemistry?

Inuyasha was sitting with his teammates in the back of the cafeteria looking around for Kagome. He could smell her scent coming close so he started going over the plan in his head.

"Yo, look." Koga tapped Miroku and Hiten. "Kagome is coming over here."

Kagome slowly walked up to the table and was stopped by Koga standing in front of her. Koga was a blue eyed, black haired wolf demon. He was cute, but such a nasty pervert, he grossed out practically the entire student body and annoyed Kagome more than 10 mosquitos.

"How's it going, Kagome?" He bit his lip and studied her body perversely.

"It'd be going a lot better if you'd get your sweaty fur out of my face." She pushed him out the way and rushed up to Inuyasha.

"Hey Yasha!" She said flirtatiously, hugging him.

The others looked on wide eyed. Miroku hung his head down and laughed. 'What the hell is he up to?'

Inuyasha kissed Kagome on her cheek and she giggled. "Where you been? I missed you."

Kagome could feel all those eyes on her and she enjoyed it. She not only liked messing with the guy's heads, she liked being seen with Inuyasha. Maybe it was because everyone else wanted him and he'd only be this close to her, maybe it was something else. Whatever the reason, she didn't care. She was having fun. "Well let's get out of here and you can show me how much you missed me." Kagome said sweetly, playing with his collar. She grabbed his hand and led him out the door.

Koga sucked his teeth and sat down. "They were '_just friends_' this morning."

"Who knows? Maybe they had Chemistry in Chemistry." Miroku joked.

* * *

Inuyasha and Kagome stood outside laughing about the whole thing.

"They so bought that. I'm definitely a phenomenal actress." Kagome boasted with her hands on her hips.

Inuyasha nodded in agreement, still getting the rest of his laughter out. "Yeah, that was very convincing. So…You're done for the day, right?"

"Sure am. I only stay for lunch to be with Sango. I'm supposed to be going to her house today."

"Alright let's go." They walked to his car and headed towards Sango's house.

Inuyasha turned on his Pandora and Disturbed started playing.

Kagome reached over to turn it up. "I love Disturbed."

"Really? That's my favorite band." He said and they rocked out to _Two_ _Worlds_ in the car. They had so much in common, it made it a lot more pleasant for them to be around each other.

Once the song was over, Inuyasha turned the radio down to answer his phone.

"Yo"

"Bro, make sure you're back for practice!" Hiten shouted on the other end of the phone.

"Why the fuck would I forget?" Inuyasha barked.

Hiten laughed at Inuyasha's reaction. "Chill out bro. I'm just getting you back for all the times you called me when I was with my girl. I know how _distracting_ girlfriends can be. Just get your ass here!"

Inuyasha forced a fake chuckle. "Yeah, whatever man. I'll be there." He said as he hung up the phone.

"Everything okay?" Kagome asked in a concerned tone.

"Yeah. I gotta go to practice. Our first game of the school year is the day after tomorrow." He informed her as they slowly pulled up in front of Sango's house. Inuyasha opened the doors and Kagome slowly got out.

"Thank you. Don't push yourself at practice!"

"I'll try not to. I'll call you tonight."

Kagome smiled at him and walked off towards Sango's house. Once he saw the doors close, he pulled off and headed to practice.

* * *

**LOOL I was listening to that song when I wrote this chapter so I implemented it ;D**

**review review review!**

**xo**

**-VQ**


	10. Sango's House

**Hey guize. Yaa I know this chapter is pretty short. I just wanted to put some Kagome/Sango interaction in my fic :] thank you for adding the story to your alerts/favs and reviewing. and thank you soo much for adding me to your fav author and author alert lists it means a lot to me.**

**enjoy and keep reviewing! xo**

**-VQ**

* * *

Kagome loved going to Sango's house. Her entire family consisted of martial artists and her house looked like a training ground. She wasn't really as into it as Sango, but she loved watching her break wood, crack dummies and punch out girls in middle school when they would get on her nerves.

"So what's going on? What have I missed?" Sango asked as they walked through her home.

"Well, you missed some schoolwork. I picked it up from all your teachers for you." Kagome said as she handed her a manila folder.

"Thank you. You're the best." Sango said appreciatively with a big smile on her face.

"Oh and Inuyasha and I pretended we were dating to scare his pervert friends." Kagome mentioned, practically throwing it into the conversation like it wasn't interesting news.

Sango stopped in the middle of her hallway and turned to face Kagome. "Hold on—did it work?"

Kagome nodded and smiled widely. Sango busted out laughing and slid down the wall. "That's funny as hell! Wow…I can't believe you two did that. A-And what makes it funny is that you two have clearly deemed yourselves as the most unavailable people in the whole school."

"Yeah but the thing is…" Kagome began, biting her lip with her cheeks slightly pink. "I…liked it a little bit."

Sango cheesed at Kagome. "Are you crushing on him?"

"No! Well. He's really nice. But I don't want a relationship and I really don't want to ruin this friendship I'm forming with him." Kagome walked off and went into Kohaku's room to see him wide awake reading a comic book. Kohaku looked a lot like Sango. Brown hair, big brown eyes, but he had freckles. He was just one year older than Sota and they actually went to the same middle school.

He looked up at her and smiled brightly as she walked in. "Hey Kagome."

Kagome couldn't help but smile back. She was so happy to see him. He was like her second little brother. "Hi, Kohaku. Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah. It's kind of funny how things happened, honestly. The kid I was fighting with was actually my friend. I kicked him so hard, I broke my leg." He said with a chuckle.

"You're a natural born martial artist, what do you expect?"

"I…guess so. Hey, can you help me with my English homework? It's hard to keep up when I can't be there for the lessons."

"Sure!"


	11. Can't Focus

Inuyasha was completely unable to concentrate during practice. He couldn't stop thinking about Kagome. Kagome's smile. Kagome's laugh. Talking to Kagome on the phone. Having Kagome fill up the empty seat in his car. He was practically in a daze when Koga shot the puck right past him, skated up to him and hit him with his stick. "What's your problem, Taisho? Next time you shouldn't get pussy before you practice! It's fuckin' up your game!"

Inuyasha dropped his stick and pushed Koga. "I'm getting real fucking sick of your mouth, Sayomi. Stay out of my way you mangy wolf or I'll clean the got damned floor with you!" He boomed.

Koga got in his face, unmoved by Inuyasha's threat. "I'd like to see you try, Mutt"

"Hey! Hey!" Coach Sato intervened and pulled the two apart. "If you two wanna fight this out, you play. One on one to 15 points. Sasaki, Ochi! Play Goalie for your boys."

Miroku and Ginta went to the goals for Inuyasha and Koga. They got into positions and the coach dropped the puck in the middle for a face off. Inuyasha got the puck and sped past Koga, slamming the puck into the goal. The same thing kept happening throughout their entire game and Inuyasha won 15-0.

He dropped his stick as Koga stood angrily in the middle of the ice.

"My game is never messed up, you son of a bitch." Inuyasha walked out of practice while everyone stood in awkward silence.

The coach stood by the door and shook his head. Coach Sato was a kind, heavyset, brown haired, red eyed moth demon who always kept his team in order.

"What's Taisho's problem?" Coach Sato asked worriedly.

"He's screwing the Higurashi girl and now he's all moody." Hakkaku said.

"He's dating Kagome Higurashi?" The coach asked surprised. Kagome was in his Gym class last year and always kept to herself by choice, unless she was with Sango.

"No! I don't think that's what's going on." Miroku defended him. "I'm going to catch up with him." He chased after Inuyasha.

The coach looked around at his directionless players. "Okay. I guess practice is over for today. Get the hell outta here, guys."

* * *

Inuyasha sat in the locker room, punching his locker out of frustration.

"Inuyasha!" Miroku called out as he rushed up to him. "What's going on, brother? What's gotten into you?"

"What are you talking about? What's gotten into me? Everyone is on my fucking back about Kagome. Let me fucking live!" He dove his fist through his locker denting the door.

"I know that's not all." Miroku put his hand on his friend's shoulder and forced him to sit on the bench with him.

"You wanna know the truth? Yeah. I fucking like the girl. She's smart, she's funny, she's kind. What happened during lunch was a joke! We were just kidding. Well…she was. I don't wanna be in a relationship, though and I know she doesn't either. So I just wanna chill the fuck out and be cool with her. I can't remember the last time I could just hang out with a girl. Probably when I was 6 and used to hang out with Yura before she moved to China. So can't I just have this without everybody fucking stressing me?"

Miroku nodded in understanding. "I understand, man. I guess everyone's just a little jealous that Kagome only talks to you."

"She talks to me because I don't eyeball rape her all the time." Inuyasha stood up and grabbed his stuff. "I'm outta here, brother." He gave him a pound and headed out the door. As he was walking to his car, he took out his phone and texted Kagome.

"_Still at Sango's?"_

She texted him right back.

"_Yup. :D I was about 2 take a cab home. Still at practice?"_

"_I'm about to leave. You want me to give you a lift?"_

Inuyasha threw his bag in the trunk and got in the car as his phone went off from Kagome's text.

"_If you dnt mind o.o "_

He looked at his phone and laughed. "Why would I mind?" He said out loud.

"_Be right there :)" _

He drove off and turned on his radio. Aly & AJ's song Chemical's React was playing. Inuyasha looked at his radio like it was broken but remembered Kagome had a poster of them in her room so he decided to give the song a chance.

_We cannot deny, how we feel inside_

_We cannot deny_

_Were you right, was I wrong_

_Were you weak, was I strong, yeah_

_Both of us broken_

_Caught in a moment_

_We lived and we loved_

_And we hurt and we jumped, yeah_

_But the planets all aligned_

_When you looked into my eyes_

_And just like that_

_The chemicals react_

_The chemicals react_

Inuyasha shut off his radio once the chorus ended. Not only did he think the song was horrible, the lyrics made him feel worse.

"Damn it all! I just met her yesterday and I already like her. How can she do this to me?" He sighed and scrunched up his face. He didn't know what to do and he didn't want to talk to anyone about it—Except one person. "Mom, give me a sign. Part of me wants to show this girl something special. But I'm worried about myself. I don't know what to do."

Inuyasha stopped at a red light and a billboard caught his attention. _"Take your time and do it right. Show them what you're made of."_ That was exactly the sign he needed. He figured that whatever happened, happened. But it was his objective to show Kagome that she could trust a guy and be happy.

"Thank you mom." He whispered as the light changed and he continued on his way to Sango's house.

* * *

Inuyasha pulled up at the house and honked his horn. Kagome ran out and got in the passenger's seat.

She rested her head back on the seat, turned to Inuyasha and smiled. "How was practice?"

"It was fine aside from the fact that I almost kicked Koga's ass." He responded as he pulled off.

Kagome raised her eyebrow. Inuyasha never seemed like the violent type to her, just the type of guy who will definitely beat you down if you piss him off. "Seriously? What did he do?"

"He's annoying!" Inuyasha elaborated. "He said something stupid about how my game was fucked up. Coach made us play 1 on 1 and I won 15 to 0. I didn't even have to hit him to make him feel some pain in his worthless little groin."

"Nice! But what made him say that?"

"I was…distracted. Had other things on my mind."

"Like what?"

'You' He thought as he shrugged. "Uh…Just general life shit. I wasn't really in the mood to practice. So I kind of drifted from focus."

"Hmm…" Kagome knew he was lying. 'I guess we're both keeping secrets from each other.'

Inuyasha pulled up by the steps of Kagome's shrine and opened the doors.

"Sota and I are going to the rink tomorrow if you want to come, since your practice wasn't good today."

"I'll be there."

Kagome's face beamed. "Great. It'd mean a lot to Sota if you were there. He looks up to you. Don't forget to—"

"Call you later? I will. I promise." He said with a smile.

Kagome smiled back and gently rubbed his shoulder. "You sure you're okay? You seem a little stressed."

Inuyasha wanted to pull her in for a hug. She was such a sweet and caring person in his eyes. He didn't understand why she couldn't see it. He just wanted to hold her and tell her she's so perfect and amazing. But he didn't want to scare her away. "I'm good. I'm just gonna go home, eat a bunch of food and get in the Jacuzzi or something, I dunno."

"Alright. Talk to you later." She got out the car and went up the stairs as Inuyasha drove off.


	12. I'm Glad We're Friends

Kagome was sitting in her room on the floor with her head on her knees, feeling dead inside. She found an old picture of her and Shiro when she was cleaning out her stuff. It was so much more concrete than her flashbacks and just touching the picture made her feel every strike, every slap, every punch every awful word and every wound.

'Why, why, why is this happening? I've come so far and now I feel like I'm going backwards.' Her mind was tormented by old memories and thoughts. She thought her head was going to explode. 'I feel so weak. I just want to move on already!'

Kagome reached for her pack of cigarettes and was getting ready to go outside and smoke the whole thing when her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Kagome." Inuyasha said, the happiness obvious in his voice.

Kagome was so relieved that Inuyasha called her before she went deeper into self-destruction. She thought she was going to break until her phone rang. It's like he was trying to save her from hurting without his even knowing it. Kagome began to sob silently and couldn't even respond.

"Kagome?"

She couldn't hold back anymore and broke. She began to sob loudly into the phone.

Inuyasha was concerned. He wanted her to stop crying so badly that he would've driven to her house half naked if she needed him to.

"What's wrong? Talk to me." He nearly begged, desperate to make the girl stop crying.

"I'm-I'm just so glad you called when you did." She continued to cry. "I found a p-picture of me and my ex boyfriend, Shiro. I f-feel like I just…took a million steps back in life." She sobbed and breathed heavily. "He-He was so bad to me, Inuyasha. And I h-have to just continue on and try to be strong. But it's not easy...it's not!" She continued to bawl and gasp on the floor by her bed.

Inuyasha was deeply saddened for her. He started to understand why her scent always carried sadness and he wished he could do something about it. He didn't want her to hold that in anymore. He wanted to make her forget. "Kagome. Is there anything I can do for you? Anything at all, I'll do it. I don't want you to cry anymore."

"You did enough. You called me. I needed to do this for a long time. I haven't cried about it in more than a year and I feel like maybe...I-I can…trust you. For the first time in so long, I think I can trust someone. I'm able to let it all go a-and cry. When you hold onto everything you start to—"

"Feel numb?"

"Y-yeah and once you start to feel numb to pain…"

"You stop feeling alive." They both said at the same time.

Kagome sniffled more. "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"I-I feel like such a burden. I must be such a pain to you." She let out a small chuckle through her tears.

"Not at all. I'm glad we're friends."

Kagome finally smiled. "So am I."


	13. Have you heard from Kagome?

**oooohhhh these chapters are short. don't be upset! **

**Continue to review ^_^ I appreciate it**

**-VQ**

* * *

"Master Inuyasha! I've come to give you your wake up call. Are you hungry, sir?"

"Yeah. I want bacon."

"Just bacon, sir?"

"I dunno. Surprise me, Jaken."

"As you wish, sir."

Inuyasha sat up and put his dead phone in the charger. He had fallen asleep on the phone with Kagome every night for the entire week. Each day he spent with her was better than the last. They went to the rink with Sota and he found out she's actually good at hockey and wanted to practice with her more often. She showed up for his game along with Sango and met his Brother, Sesshomaru for the first time. She refused to join him and the other guys to celebrate their victory because she didn't want there to be just two girls at what she called a 'sausage fest.' So the next day, he took her out to dinner since she "owed him."

His little green imp butler brought in his breakfast as he sat in bed eating it when his phone rang.

"Yo."

"Inuyasha? it's Sango."

'This is random.' "Sango, what's up?"

"Have you heard from Kagome? I usually speak to her in the mornings but her phone went straight to voicemail. When I went to her house, her mother said she already left."

"No, I haven't spoken to her since last night. Maybe she's at school." This was weird. Usually Kagome would have texted him by now and on top of that she told him she didn't like to travel alone. He was confused and concerned.

"I hope so. I'll see you later."

"See ya."

Inuyasha finished up his breakfast, put his clothes on and went straight to school. He was worried about Kagome and wanted to see what was up.

* * *

While Inuyasha was driving, he gave Kagome a call to see if her phone was back on.

_"Hi you've reached Kagome Higurashi. Sorry I missed your call. Leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."_

Inuyasha didn't like any of Kagome's behavior. He may not have known her as long as Sango, but he knew her long enough to know when something she was doing was odd. "Why is her phone off? Who is she avoiding?"

He parked his car by the school and rushed into the building. "I really hope you're in class, Kagome."


	14. The Phone Call

Kagome told her mother to tell Sango she wasn't home if she came to the house. She was lying in bed scared for her life. That morning, she received a phone call from Shiro.

_Kagome woke up to a dead phone as usual and threw it in the charger. Just as she was taking her clothes out for school, her phone rang. She assumed it was Sango but didn't recognize the number that popped up. _

"_Hello?"_

"_Hey baby." Kagome would recognize that dark voice anywhere. Her heart began to beat rapidly and all her old wounds started to burn. She felt like she was 14 again._

"_S-Shiro? What do you want!" She asked in a harsh tone._

"_Aww, You don't miss me? I got out early on good behavior just for you." He said sarcastically._

"_Not at all!" She denied angrily, balling up her fist. She wished she could punch him through the phone. Why couldn't he just leave her alone?_

"_Well, listen. I want you to know that my life was hell because of you. If you had behaved like a good little girl, maybe I wouldn't have torn your body up back then. And I've thought about you every second of every day. I even beat my dick to the thought of slitting your throat. Watching suffering and fear on that sexy little face of yours makes me so hard."_

"_Shut up! You're disgusting!" She screeched, her heart practically beating out of her chest. What in the world is wrong with this guy?_

"_I want you, Kagome. I wanna do bad things to you."_

_Kagome wasn't sure if he had gotten crazier or if this was who he truly was. She was just glad she didn't stay with him long enough to find out. "Y-You better stay away from me!" She said, her voice trembling._

_"I know where you live. I know where you go to school and I know where you hang out. I'll find you wherever you go and baby when I get my hands on you, I'm gonna put my dick in you and strangle you to death. I've wanted to get inside that little pussy for so long and have my way with you. And that's what I'm gonna do when I see you. I don't care who's watching."_

_Kagome hung up the phone and cried harder than she ever cried. Now she really felt like she took a million steps back. She was scared and angry. Why was he still after her life? She felt like all that progress she made was just an illusion and those scars were still fresh wounds._

Kagome called the police and they said they would look into it. If he called again, she just had to call them back. She didn't feel like anyone was going to help her so she decided to stay home. She asked her mother to make up something for school, turned her phone off and stayed in bed.


	15. The Truth

When Inuyasha got to Chemistry, Kagome was nowhere to be found. Every time a student came late, he looked up hoping it was her. He was really worried about her now and couldn't concentrate on his classes. After his last period, he went to lunch to find Sango and told her he hadn't seen her.

"This isn't like her. I've known her since I was 9. She never misses school. Seriously. And she would have contacted me before I went all the way to her house!" Sango stated worriedly, her head in her hands.

"I'm going to her house."

"When?" She asked as she looked up.

"Now. I finished classes for the day. Don't worry. I'll get to the bottom of this. And if she's not home, I'll sniff her out."

Sango nodded surely and put her faith in Inuyasha. She believed he'd find her and make sure she was okay. "Alright. Let me know if anything comes up."

* * *

Inuyasha walked out the school and got in his car. He quickly drove to Kagome's house and rushed up the steps to the shrine.

"Where else would Kagome go if she left the house without Sango? Those two are always together." Inuyasha already knew Kagome was home but he didn't want her mother telling him she wasn't there too. He figured he'd avoid the whole thing by taking a different approach.

He hopped up onto her windowsill and knocked on the window.

Kagome screamed from the startling noise and went to her window with a bat in her hand. She lowered her defenses when she saw Inuyasha outside.

'I should have known he'd show up here! but I didn't think he was going to climb onto my window sill!' She unlocked her window and let him in.

He studied her. She was still in her pink bunny pajamas and her eyes were swollen. He could smell fear and sadness in her scent. She wasn't her usual self and it scared him.

Inuyasha sat down in the chair at her desk as she sat on her bed. "Okay. No more lies. No more secrets. You have to tell me what you're dealing with. Tell me the _truth_. Please. If you missed a day of school over it, this is something serious."

Kagome sighed and decided to tell Inuyasha about her past: The abuse, the incident, the hospital, the police, the court, the therapy, and the phone call. Everything that lead up to that moment. She even showed Inuyasha the scars on her body.

He gently ran his clawed fingers across the scars on her sides and looked at Kagome's sad face. He couldn't imagine why someone would want to hurt such a sweet, innocent soul like Kagome. He knew Shiro was sick in the head, but he didn't know he was this sick. Inuyasha wanted to break his neck and dump his body somewhere.

He felt so hurt for Kagome. He held her tightly as she cried. "I'm not gonna let him hurt you ever again. I'll protect you with my life. Even if I have to stand guard outside your house, I will."

"Inuyasha. You don't—"

"Yes I do." He said softly. "I have to. I want to. I don't think I'd be able to go on if something happened to you. So just let me protect you."

Kagome rested her head on him and hugged him back. "Thank you."

"Why don't you go get dressed and we can get out of here? This room smells like tears and depression."

Kagome laughed at his blunt statement. "I-I don't really want to go out anywhere."

"You can come to my house if you want. Got lots of cool shit over there to distract you." He cocked his head and gave her a cute puppy look while his ears wiggled.

"How can I say no to that face?" Kagome took out some clothes to put on.

"I'll wait by the car for you."

Kagome smiled and Inuyasha leapt out her window.

* * *

While Inuyasha waited, he texted Sango and let her know what was going on. He told her he was going to protect Kagome by any means necessary and if he had to kill Shiro just to keep her safe, he wouldn't hesitate.

Kagome slowly came down the shrine steps looking around, paranoid. Inuyasha met her halfway up the steps and walked down with her. She got in the car first and he followed and closed the doors. Kagome felt safe being tucked behind tinted windows sitting next to Inuyasha. She slumped in the seat and looked down, arms crossed. He could tell she had smoked before she came down to meet him. At least he understood where the habit came from.

"I live far from you. It's like a 40 minute drive."

"40 minute drive? That's like…two years by foot."

Inuyasha laughed. "For you, I guess. But for me? Possibly ten minutes."

"When you use your demon speed?" Kagome asked with a smile.

Inuyasha nodded. "If that's what we're calling it."

"Well then why do you drive if you can get around so quickly by foot?"

"My brother said I needed to 'behave more like the young heir to an important and prestigious company and my means of transportation were primitive.' So he gave me this car."

Kagome laughed. She thought Sesshomaru was a fairly nice guy but he was so prim and proper. Inuyasha was absolutely nothing like him.

After a few moments in the car, Kagome drifted off to sleep. Inuyasha looked over to see her knocked out in the Passenger's seat.

"Guess this will be a bit of a lonely drive." He said as he continued on.


	16. Inuyasha's House

Once they reached his house, he parked in the garage and woke Kagome. When they got out, he noticed his brother's Yellow Testarossa parked and was surprised he was even home. Kagome looked around the garage and saw five cars. A Black mustang, A silver Cadillac, A black Rolls Royce and Inuyasha's car, along with his brother's.

"Are any of these yours?" She asked, looking at all the cars in admiration.

"Not yet. Sesshomaru said I can have that one when I turn 18." He explained, pointing to the Rolls Royce. "That one was my father's. But come on let's go inside."

The two walked out the garage and Kagome looked around at his property. He had a huge mansion, beautiful garden and a brick paved walkway. She almost fainted from how beautiful everything was. Inuyasha gently grasped her hand, lead her to the front door and unlocked it. Kagome's eyes grew wide as she looked around at the amazing home he had. The spiral steps, the enormous granite kitchen off to the left, the all white furnished Living room off to the right. It was all so beautiful.

Sesshomaru was walking out of the kitchen in his blue business suit. He had similar features to Inuyasha: White hair, Amber eyes, and the same pearl skin tone. The only difference was that he didn't have dog ears, but he had a crescent moon marking on his forehead and two jagged marks on the side of his face.

"Hello, little brother. Hello, Kagome."

"Hi, Sesshomaru." Kagome smiled.

"I figured you wouldn't be home long."

"I'd be here more often if I wasn't the only one running father's company. You need to hurry up and turn 18 so you can inherit some of this work."

"Work? Hah! When will I have time for hockey then?"

"You'll make time. I'm going." He rushed out the door.

"I told you I only see him in passing." He said as he turned to Kagome.

"Well, yeah but he comes to your games."

Inuyasha shrugged and Kagome nudged him jokingly.

He took Kagome towards the steps of the house. Kagome looked at the long spiral staircase that lead up and up and up. It looked like an exhausting adventure.

"This is only here for show." Inuyasha informed. "Let's take the elevator." They got in his elevator and took it to the second floor. They walked towards a double door room and Inuyasha slid the doors open gesturing for Kagome to go inside.

She slowly walked into his room and looked around. He had a huge flat screen TV, King size bed, oversized windows and "Is that a bathroom? You seriously have your own bathroom? I'd freaking kill for this!" Kagome stepped in and saw the glass door shower, golden mirror, marble top sink and the Jacuzzi in the middle of the floor.

"This is so amazing." Kagome left the bathroom and saw Inuyasha lying flat out on his bed with his button down uniform shirt half unbuttoned.

"I'm so tired." He groaned while he sat up. He took a shirt and some sweatpants out his walk in closet and went in the bathroom.

Kagome took off her shoes and sat by his desk looking at all the pictures on his wall. She saw photos of the school's hockey team, photos of the hockey team from middle school and a lot of pictures of Inuyasha and Miroku over the years. They'd known each other just as long as she knew Sango. Speaking of Sango—Kagome sent her a text to apologize and let her know she was okay.

"So sorry bout everything. I didn't really expect Inu to come in thru my window! lol I love u. I didn't want u feeling guilty or scared :("

She quickly responded and made Kagome smile as always.

"_I understand you needed time. I trust Inuyasha to take care of you like he said. He loves you."_

Inuyasha returned from the bathroom in his lounging clothes and got in his bed under the covers. Kagome turned to look at him with her eyebrow raised.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"What's it look like I'm doing?" He asked, pulling the covers over his face.

"Oh no you don't!" She pulled at his arm. "It's rude to go to sleep when you have a guest!"

He groaned and pulled her into the bed with him. "Why don't you put on a movie or something?"

"Where's the TV remote?"

"I don't know, probably on the entertainment system."

Kagome looked over at his entertainment system. As big as his room was, everything seemed like it was 50 feet away. "I don't feel like getting up now."

"Push that button above your head."

Kagome looked up at the little white button on the wall. "What does it do?"

"It's a bomb." He said with a chuckle. "Just push it."

Kagome pushed the button and looked around like something magical was going to happen. The only thing that happened was a knock on the door.

"Come in, Jaken."

Inuyasha's little green imp butler came in the room. "How may I help you, sir?"

"This is Kagome."

"Hi" She waved.

Jaken bowed. "Lady Kagome, pleasure to meet you."

"Jaken can you turn on my TV and bring me the remote?"

He quickly went to work following his orders.

Kagome stared at Inuyasha, completely confused. 'He's so spoiled!' "You brought him in here for _that_? Are you really this lazy?" Kagome whispered.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and ignored her question. "You hungry?" He whispered back.

She slowly nodded.

"You want pizza?"

She nodded again.

"One more thing, Jaken." He began as he grabbed the remote and handed it to Kagome. "Could you bring the lady and I some pizza? And a bottle of Mountain Dew. You like Mountain Dew right?" He said as he turned to Kagome.

"Uh huh."

"Yeah. Mountain Dew. And some cups. And a container of vanilla ice cream. Thanks, Jaken."

He bowed and closed the doors behind him.

Kagome flipped through the channels and decided she wanted to watch Spongebob. Whenever she was in a bad mood, this was one thing she could watch to get her mind off everything.

Inuyasha looked at the TV, then looked at Kagome. "Did the batteries in the remote die?"

"No. I like Spongebob."

"You serious?"

"You don't like Spongebob?"

"Don't tell anyone this but I watch the episodes on Netflix all the time." He admitted. "If you wanna change into something more comfortable, you can go look through my closet and put on whatever you want."

"I want the shirt you have on. That's my favorite game. I play it on my phone all the time."

Inuyasha looked down at his blue Angry Birds shirt. "Uh. Okay." He took it off and handed it to her.

She was momentarily distracted by his cut body and built arms but quickly ran to the bathroom with the shirt. As she took her clothes off to change, she noticed the shirt smelled like him. He always smelled so good. His cologne was manly, but not harsh and it had a bit of a sweet scent to it. She slipped the shirt onto her body and folded her clothes over her arm. The shirt was long enough to reach halfway to her knees. She came out the bathroom and laid her clothes down on a chest at the foot of Inuyasha's bed. She crawled back into the bed, got under the covers with him and watched Spongebob. He would continually look over at her and make faces and she would make faces right back. They were acting like little kids but enjoyed every moment together. Things felt so natural between them.

"You wanna see a picture of my mom?"

"Sure."

Inuyasha lifted up the mattress slightly and handed Kagome a picture of a woman hugging a little boy. She had brown eyes and long black flowing hair with bangs. She had on a little make up and was dressed in a fancy floral dress. Kagome was stunned by how gorgeous his mother was.

"How beautiful!"

"She was the most beautiful woman I've ever known to this day."

Kagome looked down at the picture and noticed how cute Inuyasha was when he was young. She handed him the picture back with a smile.

"After her, I think...you come in second. You're the second prettiest girl I've ever seen."

Usually people didn't like to come in second, but to take second place after his mom was something special to Kagome.

"Thank You. That's really sweet."

"You know…" He began while looking at the TV. "My brother and Squidward are a lot alike."

"How so?" Kagome asked with a laugh.

"He's all stuffy and cranky like Squidward. The only thing missing is that nasal laugh"

The two were mimicking Squidward's laugh when Kagome's phone rang on Inuyasha's desk.

"Can you check who that is for me?"

Inuyasha looked at her phone screen. "It says restricted."

Kagome's whole good mood was destroyed. She felt like someone dropped a heavy sack of bullshit on her mood and literally crushed her. "Oh no, that's probably Shiro again."

"What?" Inuyasha answered the call. "Hello?"

"Who is this? Why are you answering my girl's calls?"

"Shiro. Nice to hear from you again." Inuyasha said in a condescending voice. "It's Taisho."

"Inuyasha? What the hell are _you _doing answering my girl's phone?"

"Your girl? You must have missed the memo when you were getting ass fucked in jail. She's _not_ your girl."

"So what you're fucking her now? Listen you little dog, stay away from my bitch or I'll—"

"Or you'll what? Don't start something you can't finish. I'll punch a hole in your throat before you get a chance to talk about Kagome like that again."

Shiro was cackling on the other end of the phone. "Oh yeah? Well I'm gonna catch her alone one day. And when I do, I'm gonna tear her clothes off, bend her over and pound that sweet pussy a million times better than you ever could. Then I'm gonna finish cutting her up like I should have done years ago."

"If you try to lay a finger on Kagome, I'll rip it off and feed it to you." Inuyasha hung up the phone.

Kagome's eyes were tearing.

"Don't worry about him!" He said, trying to cheer her up. "He's never gonna get a chance to hurt you as long as I can help it."

Kagome began to cry more and covered her face with her hands. Inuyasha took her hands off her face and saw her little red nose and sad eyes. It made him sad. He held her close to him and rubbed her back.

"It's okay. Shh. It's okay Kagome."

"It's not okay. This is why I always want to be alone. I knew he was going to get out soon and just ruin everything. I let one stupid person have so much control over my life and now he's trying to kill me again. This is exactly why I want to be by myself. Who would want to deal with this? Who would want to deal with me?"

Inuyasha hated the fact that she pushed everyone away because she thought she deserved the pain of loneliness. She didn't deserve it at all. "I don't mind. I'd deal with all the crazy psycho axe murderers in the world for you."

"You don't have t—"

"You always tell me that I don't have to do something. I want to do this for you! Wouldn't you do everything that you could for Sango?"

"But…it's different." She sniffled and looked up at him.

He grabbed her hand and closed his fingers between hers. "Why is it different? Because I'm a guy? I just want you to be okay. I really care about you and it makes me happy to know you're happy. So just cut it out and let me protect you."

Kagome happily sighed and rested her head on his chest. She definitely loved Inuyasha. She just didn't think she could love him freely with Shiro in the picture but as long as Inuyasha was by her side, it was okay.


	17. As Time Goes By

Two and a half months had gone by. It was time for winter recess. Kagome hadn't seen or heard from Shiro in all that time. She was able to keep going on with her life because Inuyasha was always there for her. They had grown much closer overtime and Kagome trusted him. She knew he would always be there for her whenever she needed him.

Inuyasha was happy to have Kagome around. He never felt alone or like he didn't have anyone. She continued to mend his wounds and help him find peace with losing his mother. No one could ever do for him what she could.

When people would see them around school together, they would get jealous. Especially of Kagome. The girls would stare and talk about how much they hated her. It almost killed those girls to see him driving her around and holding doors for her. When they would ask, she would tell them he wasn't her boyfriend but they were best friends. No one bought that. Especially because every time a girl would talk to Inuyasha she would chase her off by saying something insulting. Inuyasha did the same, except it was scarier and involved bearing his claws at the guy.

Kagome had been going to his games, watching the star player shine on the ice. He had plenty of offers to play pro already but still had quite a bit of time to make a decision.

He always went with her to Sota's games and they would always go out afterward, whether his team won or lost. Kagome's mother would give both of them that strange smile whenever Kagome and Inuyasha would sit near each other or smile at each other. Sota had even pulled him to the side once and told him Kagome was single and he should go for it. Inuyasha just laughed and said nothing.

On Halloween, they dressed as Batman and Catwoman. Guys kept asking to take pictures of her at the party they went to, but she figured they were only going to use them to beat off to. Inuyasha told— or technically promised everyone at the party that if anyone took pictures of her, he'd break their phones, their ribs and their teeth. He constantly thinks about that night because of what happened:

_Inuyasha had pulled up at Kagome's house._

_"You shouldn't have protected me at that party, you know. I'm still a villain." She said with a mischievous smirk._

_Inuyasha chuckled. He liked the way she stayed in character. "You're only dressed like a villain. I know who you really are under that costume."_

_"Well, thank you." She leaned over and kissed him on his cheek before getting out the car. "I'll see you tomorrow." She headed up the steps and went in her house._

_Inuyasha was still sitting in his car in shock. It took him five minutes to actually pull off. The entire drive, he had a huge smile on his face._

On his 17th birthday in November, Sesshomaru gave him $20,000 and put new rims on his Lamborghini. There wasn't really much he could do for his little brother. Inuyasha was spoiled rotten and had everything. Kagome got him a gold locket with some pictures they took in it. He liked it more than the money and wears it all the time.

Seemed like a pretty good life so far for both of them. All they have to do is get through the rest of the year without any more problems but...

It's not easy to stay away from trouble when trouble looks for you.


	18. When In Rome

It was 3 AM on a Saturday morning. Inuyasha wasn't on the phone with Kagome because she broke her cell when...

_Miroku asked Inuyasha to stay for the whole lunch period so they could talk. He wanted to tell him he was interested in Sango. They had math class together and he admired how intelligent she was._ _Inuyasha informed him that he needed to approach Sango the right way because she was one of his friends too and he wanted her to be respected. Miroku gave him his word. _

_Kagome came in the lunchroom looking for Inuyasha when Koga approached her._

_"So...you're not dating the mutt right? That means you and I could-"_

_"No. We can't." She cut him off harshly and continued walking past him._

_"Damn why do you have to be such a bitch all the time?"_

_All Kagome heard was 'bitch' __and before she knew it, her phone flew out of her hand and straight into his face._

Inuyasha laughed every time he thought about it. He was just mad the replacement was going to take a few days to come.

He was wide awake playing Modern Warfare when his phone rang.

"Yo."

"Hi, Inuyasha."

His eyes grew wide when the calm voice entered his ear drums. It was Kikyo. He didn't know why she was calling or how he should feel about it.

"Kikyo! Long time, no speak. How are you?"

"I've been well. I'm so glad to hear your voice."

Inuyasha's heart skipped a beat when she said that.

"I'm in Rome." She continued "It's 9 AM here. What time is it there?"

"It's 3 AM."

"I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"No…I was…just playing a game."

"I see. Well what's going on in Tokyo?"

"Same old stuff. Nothing has really changed at Fuji. I've got a few offers to play pro. Sesshomaru is getting married soon."

"Well congratulations. I always believed in you."

Inuyasha blushed at her kind words. "Thanks."

"Speaking of marriage, I've met a _wonderful_ man here named Carmelo. We're going to get married in January."

Inuyasha felt like his head was going to explode. He was confused by all of his emotions. He wasn't sure if he was more upset that she was getting married, or angry that she called him to brag about her future husband. Even the way she enunciated 'wonderful' made him want to break one of the windows in his room.

"Congratulations. I'm really happy for you. I wish you the best." He forced out. He didn't think there was any point in blowing up at her. They've been over for a long time.

"Thank You. Your blessing means a lot to me. I know what we had in the past—"

"Was in the past. I'm really excited for you. I am." He wasn't. He wanted to hang up on her and act like had never spoken to her, or even met her.

"I…just felt guilty for the way I left after graduation. I had to talk to you to really move on."

"It's okay. I got over it." He didn't. He wanted to hang up on her even more now.

"It was never your fault that I left. I loved you very much. And I still have love for you. You're a wonderful person, Inuyasha. I just needed to get out of Japan."

"Yeah. I understand." He didn't. He never understood why she walked away from him when things seemed to be going so well.

"I have to go. It was nice talking to you."

"Same here." 'Good Riddance.'

"Bye, Inuyasha."

"…Bye, Kikyo." 'I hate you, Kikyo.'

Inuyasha dropped his phone on his bed.

"She's so full of shit. Why the fuck did she have to call me at 3 in the morning to tell me she's getting married?"

He turned off his game and his TV and laid in bed playing with his phone. He looked at the wallpaper photo Kagome put up a few days ago of the two of them after his hockey game. He smiled and put the phone under his pillow.

"Fuck this. Fuck Kikyo. Fuck that guy Carmel or whatever. I'm going to sleep."


	19. Maybe The Timing Was Bad

When Inuyasha woke up in the morning, it still hurt. It hurt more than yesterday. All the thoughts running through his mind and the pain in his chest were realer than last night.

'Why is she getting married? It was supposed to be me that she married! Why did she have to leave me? I would have given up everything for her! Even Hockey.'

He lied there holding his head trying to get himself together.

"What a miserable Saturday I'm gonna have." He thought until his phone rang.

He sighed and looked at his phone. It said Sota but it was more than likely Kagome calling.

"Yo."

"Inuyasha! It's me."

"I know."

"What's up? Wanna hang out today?"

"Yeah. I really do. I'm in a shitty mood."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"I'll tell you when I get there."

"Okay. See you soon."

"Yeah."

Inuyasha hung up and hit his buzzer for Jaken. He sat up in his bed and sighed.

"How may I help you, Master Inuyasha?"

"Can you iron something for me to wear today? I'm going to pick up Kagome to hang out and I don't wanna look like a bum."

"Right away, sir."

Inuyasha got in the shower, wishing he could wash away Kikyo. He felt like she was a scar on his skin, even on his brain that just wouldn't heal. Every time he thought he was over the fact that she hurt him, he found out in the worst way that he wasn't. He wished his excitement to see Kagome's beautiful smile would overpower this pain, but for some reason, it couldn't. He knew he was head over heels in love with Kagome, but maybe the timing was bad. Shiro was still out on the streets somewhere, causing her to look over her shoulder all the time, and he'd been trying to get over Kikyo for a year and a half.

"It is what it is, I suppose." He said to himself as he got out the shower and shook dry. He put on his robe and came out to see Jaken along with his black hoodie and blue jeans on the bed ironed. He was in the mood to just throw on a chill outfit so that was perfect.

"Will there be anything else, sir?"

Inuyasha shook his head as he threw the hoodie over his head. "Nah, thanks. I'm about to get out of here."

"Yes, sir." Jaken left and closed the door behind him.

Inuyasha's phone was beeping from a missed call he had from Miroku. He called him back as he got dressed.

"Brother! How's your break going?"

"It was fine until fucking Kikyo called me last night."

"She called? For what?"

"To tell me she was getting married and to apologize to me for leaving the way she did."

"How nice of her." Miroku said sarcastically.

"Yeah, brother. But fuck it! I'm going to hang out with Kagome. How's the weather in Morocco?"

"It's beautiful man! So many women out here in their bathing suits."

"Hey, I thought you were trying to make something happen with Sango."

"It's so hard, Inuyasha. Sango is probably the most perfect and fantastic woman I'll ever meet but there are so many women here…"

"I'll never understand you, Miroku. Just keep your dick in your pants before Sango ninja kicks the shit out of you."

"I am a faithful man, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Yeah and I have bad hearing."

Miroku laughed. "Be safe out there, brother."

"Alright you too."

Inuyasha hung up. He put his phone in his pocket, grabbed his keys and went to go pick up Kagome.

* * *

**Heyy me again ( I know you guize are like omg go away vamphigherqueen so I can read the fic u suck ) lol I just wanted to thank you all again for reviewing faving and whatnot :]**

**ok -rides my unicorn into the sunset- ^_^**

**-VQ**


	20. Wait

Inuyasha pulled up at Kagome's house and went up the shrine steps to get her. She was sitting by the Sacred Tree with Sango. Kagome turned to see him walking up to her and ran in his arms to hug him. He tightly squeezed her back and inhaled her scent. It was nice to know there wasn't so much sadness in it anymore.

She looked up at him with a bright smile, the one he was looking forward to. "Do you feel better now?"

He looked down at her and smiled, still holding onto her. "Yeah. A lot better."

From Sango's point of view, the two looked like a happy couple that loved each other more than anything. She was wondering why they were taking so long to tell one another how they felt. They were looking into each other's eyes, smiling and giggling. It was making her sick, but if Kagome was happy, she was happy.

"Hey what am I, chopped liver?" Sango shouted.

"What's up, Sango?" Inuyasha waved.

"Inuyasha can you pleeeease drive me home? I'm supposed to Skype with Miroku in a little while."

"Are you gonna show him your new bra?" Kagome asked with a goofy smile on her face.

Sango's eyes widened as she blushed. Inuyasha laughed and looked away.

"Well are you gonna show Inuyasha yours?" Sango asked.

"Huh?" Inuyasha turned around in confusion.

Kagome's face turned pink and she ran towards her house. "Umm…you take Sango home and I'm gonna go uh…feed the cat."

Sango followed Inuyasha to his car laughing at Kagome's weirdness.

* * *

"So…" She began as he pulled off. "What's going on with you and Kagome?"

"Nothing, Sango. You should know that."

"I do…but you like her, right?"

He started to get nervous. Was it that obvious? "What makes you say that?"

Sango didn't like the way he was avoiding her question "You…like…her…right?"

Inuyasha could tell by the sound of Sango's voice, if he beat around the bush with her anymore, she'd probably knock him out. "Well yeah." He admitted.

"So tell her already! She likes you as well."

While he was happy to know Kagome liked him... "I don't think now is the best time for us to really be together."

Sango Scoffed and threw her hands in the air in frustration. "What, Do you two share a brain? She said the same thing. You're both so irritating."

"Look, Sango, I really care about Kagome a lot. I want to be with her but I want it to _work_."

"If you two like each other, then it will work!" She argued. "You two should be able to overcome everything together."

"I know you mean well and I do plan on being with Kagome. I just want to take my time and do this right. Not just for me, but for her too."

They pulled up at Sango's house and she got out when the doors opened.

"You two are practically a couple now. I don't think something like telling each other the truth will change anything. You'll probably be the same old Inuyasha and Kagome together."

Inuyasha shrugged off her idea. "I dunno…relationships change a lot of things."

Sango nodded in understanding. She realized this wasn't something she could force. "I guess they do. Thank you for the ride."

"Anytime. See you later."

Inuyasha drove back to Kagome's thinking about what Sango said. 'I just think it'd be best to wait. I have a feeling…'


	21. Scars and Wounds

Kagome got in Inuyasha's car and they sat there staring at each other.

"What is it?" she asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"Uh…Where are we going?"

"I don't know. I just wanted to get out of the house because Sota has his teammates over and Sango wanted to have Skype sex with Miroku." She replied, rolling her eyes.

"Skype sex?" He chuckled, thought about it then quickly shook the thought out of his mind because imagining his friends naked in front of their computers was weird. "So what do you wanna do?"

"I want to lay down." She said with a small laugh.

"Well then we can go to my house." He pulled off and began driving home.

"Inuyasha?"

"Hmm?"

"Why were you so upset?"

"Kikyo called me at 3 in the morning."

Kagome grew angry. A million different scenarios went through her head. 'Was she begging him to take her back? Is she moving back? Did she tell him she missed him? Was he going to be with her?'

"W-What'd she want?" Kagome tried her best to sound calm.

"She's in Rome. She met a guy there and they're getting married next month. She also told me she felt guilty for leaving like that and it wasn't my fault she left."

"I see." 'He still loves her.' She assumed, feeling like an arrow had gone through her heart.

"She's so full of shit, though. She always was. She was so self-righteous. She probably patted herself on the back after she hung up like she did a fucking good deed by calling me."

Kagome asked the question she was afraid to ask. The question she thought she needed to ask. "Well…How do you feel about her?"

"I don't really know. I don't miss her. I'm just still bothered by the fact that I got left. She really walked away from me when I thought things were going so good. Back then, I wouldn't have thought she'd be calling me to tell me she was marrying someone else. The emotions are gone but...I dunno."

"The pain is still there, right? It's like a wound. Every time you think it's closed, it opens again. I know how you feel."

Of course she knew. It was like she was sitting closer than his pain. "It fucking sucks."

"Some wounds need extra care. You have to constantly tend to them until they begin to close up. Sometimes they're never fully closed, and you don't realize it until they reopen and you have to try to get them to close them again. I just like to convince myself that one day my wounds will fully close. The easiest way to defeat pain is by enduring it."

"That's true."

"I remember one time I was crying about my scars, when I first got them stitched up. I was complaining that my body was disfigured and no one would ever love me like this. Sota told me I wasn't disfigured; I was a tiger who had grown her stripes. Tigers are strong and fierce carnivores. I guess I've lived my life by that. Maybe I do come off as a bitch, but I have my reasons."

"People think that just because I'm half demon, that I'm just not human. Half demons have the option to choose between their two hearts. When I'm hurt, I'm hurt. I don't show my weakness to anyone. You're the only person, aside from Miroku, who ever sees this side of me."

"And you're the only person, aside from Sango, who sees this side of me."

Inuyasha looked over at Kagome and smiled. "At least we have each other."


	22. Talking In His Sleep

Inuyasha opened the door to his house and Kagome walked in. She had been there at least 20 times and Sesshomaru said she was welcome to be there even if Inuyasha wasn't home.

"Inuyasha, is that you?" Sesshomaru called from the living room.

'Shouldn't this dumbass know it's me because of my scent?' He wondered with a stupefied look on his face. "No, it's a ghost." He responded in a flat, sarcastic tone.

"How spooky. Please come here I wish to speak with you."

"Oh this pain in the ass." Inuyasha walked over to his brother and Kagome went to the kitchen to get a drink.

She sat at the counter with a glass of orange juice looking out the window when a woman had come in wearing a black silk dress. The two stared at one another in confusion. The woman was short, She had mid length black hair and big brown eyes. She had a crescent moon mark on her neck and looked a lot like the woman in the photos around the house with Sesshomaru. Kagome assumed that was his fiancé.

"Hi, Uh...are you Rin?" Kagome asked.

"Yes I am!" She responded happily. "Who might you be?"

"I'm Inuyasha's friend, Kagome."

"Oh, Kagome! I've heard so much about you. It's nice to finally meet you. I hope to see you at the wedding."

Kagome smiled back. Rin was a lot more bubbly and lively than Sesshomaru and her presence was quite heartwarming. "I'll be there!" She responded, happily.

Rin gave her a sweet smile before she grabbed a water bottle out the fridge and left the kitchen.

Inuyasha came in the kitchen and sat next to Kagome.

"My brother is such a dick." He said with a goofy smile on his face.

"What did he do?"

"He told me he wanted to discuss the seating arrangements for 'me and my woman' at his wedding."

Kagome rolled her eyes and chuckled. "He really doesn't believe that I'm not your girlfriend?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "No."

"Inuyasha, we're leaving." Sesshomaru called from the front door.

"Where you going?" Inuyasha questioned.

"To hell. Goodbye." The door was shut.

"I believe him." Inuyasha said, turning to Kagome, taking her cup of juice and finishing it. "Ugh. Sesshomaru gave Jaken the weekend off so there's no one to cook food."

"You can't cook?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "I never had to."

'He's so hopeless.' "You want me to cook something for you?"

Inuyasha's ears wiggled and he put on his cute puppy face. "You'd do that for me?"

Kagome wanted to melt every single time he gave her that face. "Of course. How about some steak and eggs?"

"Sounds good."

Kagome smiled and began preparing a meal for two.

* * *

Kagome woke up in the middle of the night in Inuyasha's bed with something heavy draped over her side. It turned out to be his arm. Inuyasha had a huge bed and they usually didn't sleep this close to each other. While Kagome didn't mind, she had to move his arm so she could get comfortable. She turned to look at his gentle sleeping face and how cute he looked with a bit of his fang peeking out over his bottom lip. She ran the back of her hand down his soft face. He pulled her in closer and squeezed her like she was his teddy bear.

"Ka…gome…" He slurred, eyes still shut.

'Is he talking in his sleep?' She thought.

"I…love you."

Kagome felt like time had froze and her mind would never get past that moment. 'Did I hear that right? I want to ask him.'

"Inuyasha?"

His ears wiggled and he slowly opened his eyes. "Huh?"

"Were you talking in your sleep just now?"

"I dunno. Why? What'd I say?"

'He was.' "N-Nothing I could really understand. I just heard you saying something."

"What did you think I said?"

"I'm uh...not exactly sure." She replied, sounding as untruthful as ever.

"Liar."

"It sounded like you said you…l-love me." She forced the words out and wished she could take them right back. 'Maybe I shouldn't have asked him.'

"Hmm. Sounds like something I would say." And he turned over and went back to sleep.

Kagome let out a gasp and felt heart racing. She knew she was in love with Inuyasha, she just felt scared to love him because she always looked over her shoulder in fear. She felt like as long as Shiro was on the streets, she could never be herself. However, despite everything, she could never stop loving Inuyasha.

Kagome smiled, reached her arm around his side and nuzzled into his back.


	23. Hot Chocolate

Kagome's sleep was disrupted by the sound of guns and explosions. She opened her eyes to see Inuyasha sitting up next to her playing the game.

"You finally up?" He said without looking away.

"Uh huh."

"You sleep hard! I was putting things in your nose and jumping on the bed but you just wouldn't wake up."

"You did not!" She said while laughing, playfully punching his leg.

Inuyasha paused his game and handed Kagome a small basket. "Jaken came back this morning. I asked him to get you some things."

Kagome looked in the basket to find a hairbrush, comb, toothbrush, body wash, a pink towel and a white sweater dress. She took the dress out the basket and examined it. It had a gold accents attached to it and a black tie in the back.

"This is so beautiful."

"Yeah? I picked it out. I'm not an expert on girl's clothes so I'm glad you like it."

"You're so sweet. Thank you." She kissed his cheek and his cheeks were burning red.

His cheek still felt like her lips were there even after she pulled away. He wanted to know how her lips would feel against his but 'Not yet.'

"Yeah, yeah." He replied to her with a wide smile on his face.

"We should go to the diner by my house and get hot chocolate before I go home."

"My brother bought that diner like 4 years ago."

"Are you serious!"

"Yeah. So if we go there, we can get anything we want for free. I didn't know you liked going there."

"I do!" She rushed into the bathroom to get ready.

* * *

Kagome was happily walking up the steps to her shrine with Inuyasha.

"This stuff is so good!" She exclaimed as she went to take another sip of her hot chocolate.

"I can see that." Inuyasha said with a smile. "You got some on your lip."

"Huh? Where?"

Inuyasha gently wiped her lip with his finger then licked the hot chocolate off of it. "It's gone now."

Kagome giggled and blushed furiously. "Thank you."

He nodded. "Well, I gotta go. I promised Miroku I'd meet up with him today. So...I'll call you later?"

"Okay, I'll talk to you later." She waved and turned to open her door when Inuyasha grabbed her hand. She stopped what she was doing and turned around.

He gently kissed her cheek and walked away, saying nothing more.

Kagome watched Inuyasha walk away, her eyes wide and her heart skipping multiple beats. After her momentary shock, she unlocked her door and stood in the doorway, holding her cheek with a big smile on her face.

Nothing could ruin her week now. Not after that.


	24. Fade To Black

It was a beautiful, snowy but freezing Tuesday afternoon, just three days before Christmas—at least it would have been a good day but Kagome was experiencing a migraine headache. She didn't have them often, but she had a prescription for whenever they came on. Her doctor told her they were from the cigarettes but she would still smoke one, or a few and suffer the consequences afterward.

She was lying in bed with her head hurting so badly it was making her nauseous. She had been sleeping all day and hadn't eaten a thing. Unfortunately, no one was home except her so she had to fend for herself.

'Inuyasha was right. I need to quit smoking.' She thought as she rummaged through her drawer looking for her pills. When she found the bottle, it turned out it was empty.

"Oh, great. I need a refill." She switched her shorts and tee shirt with some jeans and a sweater, grabbed her prescription, along with her replacement phone that finally came and a rusty pocket knife Sango gave her. She grabbed her coat downstairs and slipped her boots on.

Kagome ran out the door and down the shrine steps. She wanted to make this a quick trip. The snow was blowing in her direction making it a bit difficult to walk at the speed she wanted to. Fortunately, the pharmacy wasn't too far. "This weather is making me feel sicker! I can't wait to get in my bed."

Just as she was about to turn the corner and walk into the pharmacy parking lot, she was grabbed from behind by her throat. Before she could react or scream, a cloth was put over her face and everything faded to black.

* * *

**OMG VAMPHIGHERQUEEN WTF 3 SHORT CHAPTERS AND A CLIFFHANGER Y U DO THIS :(**

**cos me wants more reviews ^_^**

**I love feedback! So gimme some :)**

**-VQ**


	25. Escape

Kagome began to slowly come to and lazily open her eyes. Her head was throbbing much more than before. Once she was fully awake, she practically panicked, realizing her hands were tied behind her back, her legs were tied to a chair and a gag was stuffed in her mouth. It was forced so far in her mouth, she might have thrown up if she tried to scream. She was freezing, shivering in that seat. It felt like outside in that..whatever place she was in and her coat had been taken.

'Oh my god.' She looked around the strange grey paint-chipped room frantically. It smelled like dirty water. She could hear the wind outside a slightly cracked window to her right and there was a table to her left, with her coat on it. The floor beneath her was incredibly dirty and wherever she was, looked rundown.

Kagome struggled in the chair, trying to escape somehow until she heard footsteps slowly approaching behind her. Her heart was pounding, knocking on her chest like it was trying to escape and she couldn't breathe. Her head was still hurting from the migraine and tears were running down her cheeks. Kagome was sobbing out of fear and misery. She knew what was going on and who captured her. She figured she was as good as dead this time.

The owner of the footsteps crouched down in front of her and removed a ski mask he had on. He had green hair, a tattoo on his face of a pentagram; cold brown eyes and a disgusting look on his face. He didn't look like the Shiro from when Kagome was younger, but it was the same guy.

"Hey, Kagsy." He rubbed his hand up her thigh and she reflexively nudged it off. "Don't fight it! We were meant to be. I just missed you, that's all. Give me another chance. Taisho can't do for you what I can."

Kagome gave him a hateful look and shook her head. She wanted Inuyasha. She would have done anything to see him right then and there. She wasn't sure if she'd ever see him again and started to have so many regrets.

'Why did I leave the house alone?'

'I should have known better.'

'I'm about to die. He's going to finish me off this time.'

'Inuyasha. I love you. I'm sorry.'

"No? You can't say no to me!" He cut the ropes on her legs, pulled her up off the chair and forced her onto the dirty ground. He climbed on top of her and cut her sweatshirt down the middle, revealing her pink bra.

"Your tits fill up that bra pretty nice, baby girl. I wonder if they taste as good as they look." Kagome began struggling against him as he looked down at the scars on her sides.

His alter switched in. His voice became soft and he appeared less threatening. "I'm sorry about this, babe. I really am. I just got so scared at the thought of you fucking someone else. And now you are." The alter switched out and he turned rough again. "You're _fucking. Someone. else._ A half breed at that? What do you love so much about that filthy, wild animal anyway? You like feeling those dog fangs in your body? Or those disgusting claws?" He got close to her face.

"I can fuck you like an animal." He whispered in her ear as she winced and cried. "I'm gonna fuck you till you come back to me."

He began to remove her gag. "You better not scream anything unless it's my name when I start pounding you."

He turned her over and cut the ropes off her arms. "See? I'm trying to be good to you. Now be good to me."

He grabbed her face and forced her to look at him. "You got that?" She scrunched up her face in anger and nodded.

"Good girl." Shiro smirked at her and stood up to pull down his pants. Kagome reached in her back pocket and took out the rusty knife she had. She refused to die by his hands, let alone get raped.

He knelt down beside her. "Look, Kagome. Look how excited I am for you." He said, pointing to his erection. "Be a good girl and suck it for me." He began to force her head down and she stabbed him in his testicles.

He screamed from the agonizing pain and fell to his side. Kagome quickly got up off the floor and ran out the door of that strange place. When she got outside, she quickly realized it was his basement and ran up the steps, hopped over his fence and ran in the cold with her sweater torn open and no jacket. She was freezing but didn't care at all. She ran as fast as she could to any place that looked safe. She felt somewhat relieved when a convenience store came into view. She ran inside, slipped from the snow on her boots and fell by the counter.

"Call the police!" She demanded. "My ex boyfriend tried to rape me! Please hide me he's going to kill me!"

The cashier stared at the poor girl holding her sweater closed, dirt all over her face and pants. He nodded and gestured for her to come behind the counter. He got one of the blankets off the shelves and draped it over her. The man then called the police and explained the situation.

"You'll be okay. The police are coming."

Kagome nodded while her whole body was shaking. She looked scared to death and the man felt so bad for her. He got her some tea from their machine.

"T-Thank you." She said in a shaky voice.

"Don't mention it. I just wanted to make sure you were alright! Let me know if you need anything else."

Kagome nodded and sipped the tea. She took her phone out of her pocket and dialed Inuyasha.

'He's gonna be so mad at me.' She thought as the phone rang.


	26. Get To You

Inuyasha hated snow. He figured he'd use the terrible weather as a great excuse to work out. He'd been down in his home gym for an hour lifting weights when his phone rang. He stopped lifting, took a deep breath and exhaled before answering the phone.

"Yo."

"Inuyasha?"

He could hear Kagome's voice cracking on the other side of the phone and got worried. "What's the matter, Kagome?"

"I was just going to fill my prescription for my migraine medicine. I shouldn't have gone alone." She sobbed into the phone.

Inuyasha began to panic. "What happened? Where are you? Are you hurt?"

"I'm safe. I escaped to a convenience store away from Shiro's house. I'm waiting for the police to come. But I'm so scared. I need you here."

"I'll be right there."

"I'm so sorry."

"No! I'm the one that should be sorry. I promised to protect you and I wasn't there."

"Please don't blame yourself. I thought I was going to die—"

"Don't talk like that!"

"Let me finish, Inuyasha. I thought I was going to die without telling you how I felt. Please. Get here when you can."

"I'm coming." Inuyasha quickly rushed up to his room, threw a shirt and his sweater on, grabbed his keys

"Fuck this. I ain't driving!" and he ran out the door.

Inuyasha was scared as he ran through the city. The thought of losing Kagome ran through his mind over and over again until his eyes flashed red. 'This is all my fault. I need to get to her.'

He started to run faster. So fast, in fact, that he probably looked like a blur passing by. He didn't care about the snow, he didn't care about the cold, he didn't care about anything except getting to Kagome.

Once he finally reached the convenience store, he swung the door open.

The cashier screamed like a little girl when he saw Inuyasha force himself in. Angry, huffing, snow all over his clothes and eyes red. He looked terrifying.

"Uh...we're c-closed, sir!" The cashier said, the evident fear in his voice.

"Where is she? Where's the girl that came here?" He growled out.

Kagome slowly stood up from behind the counter and ran into Inuyasha's arms. "I'm so glad you're here! I was so scared!"

Inuyasha held her tightly and calmed down. He was relieved that she wasn't bleeding or injured in any way, but the fact that she was still attacked was unsettling. He continued to hold her as they waited for the police to arrive.

* * *

Kagome was brought to the precinct for questioning and Inuyasha was right there with her. He was on the phone with Sango who was cursing like a sailor on her bus ride there. Kagome had to wait for her mother before she could go home. She sat, waiting for her mother holding Inuyasha's hand. She was still wrapped in the blanket that guy gave her from the store until Inuyasha offered her his sweatshirt and stayed in his thermal shirt.

Her mother stepped out the elevator and Kagome ran into her mother's arms.

"Mommy I'm so sorry. I caused more trouble."

"Oh, Kagome this isn't your fault. I'm so glad you're okay."

Kagome's mother walked up to the detective and gave him a piece of her mind.

"This is your fault. My daughter called you people months ago and told you he was after her. She was just going to get medicine and he attacks her because it took her almost dying for you to "look into it?" This is not acceptable!"

Kagome never saw her mother get like that unless it had something to do with her or Sota, or even her grandpa. While her mother was ranting, Sango had shown up with Kohaku. The two both ran up to Kagome and hugged her, glad to know she was okay.

"Ma'am please calm down. Maybe if your daughter wasn't alone—"

"Hold on!" Sango cut in. "It was 1 in the fucking afternoon in broad daylight. Why is it her fault that she got snatched? How dare you blame her for this! Mom!" She turned to Kagome's mother. "You need to file a lawsuit against this police department."

Kagome's mother nodded in agreement. "Let's leave everyone."

They all got in the elevator and left the precinct.

* * *

Kagome went straight in her shower when she got home. She wanted to wash Shiro off her skin. She wanted to wash his face out of her mind, his voice out of her head and his existence out of her life. She told Sango and Kohaku it was alright for them to go to his appointment because she would be okay. Especially if Inuyasha was with her.

_Inuyasha_.

She was so glad she was alive. She didn't want to die without telling him she loved her too. She believed Shiro would be out the picture for good this time and maybe it was finally okay for her to love him. Maybe everything happened for a reason. Maybe.

* * *

"Mrs. Higurashi, Sota. I am so sorry for what happened to Kagome. If only I had been with her..."

Kagome's mother rubbed Inuyasha's shoulder in comfort. "Inuyasha, you can't blame yourself for what happened. Kagome wants to be able to live her life and get around by herself. She shouldn't have to always have someone with her. Shiro is the blame. He shouldn't have been terrorizing her like that."

Sota nodded in accord. "Yeah. Besides, Kagome saved herself! Maybe she's stronger than she thinks she is. I hope she finally sees that."

Inuyasha couldn't help but feel guilty and uneasy about everything. He knows he can't be attached at the hip to Kagome, but he still feels like he's responsible because he promised to protect her. Still and yet, Sota was right.

"Yeah. Me too." He agreed.

Kagome came downstairs to see everyone looking at her with somewhat optimistic smiles on their faces. She sniffed the air and made a displeased face.

"I still smell like _him._" She groaned. "I'm going to take another shower...or three." She went right back up the stairs.

Everyone looked at each other awkwardly.

"I guess I'll go home for a while." Inuyasha said as he stood up. "Maybe Kagome will want to get out the house. I don't want her sulking in bed."

Kagome's mother nodded. "She definitely does not need to be sulking around all day but being with you seems to make her happy." Her mother gave him that strange smile again.

Inuyasha returned the smile. All he wanted to do was make Kagome happy.


	27. Something Beautiful Behind Sadness

Kagome and Inuyasha got in his car and drove to his house. He promised to replace her jacket since that was her favorite one. She had on the white sweater dress he bought her and loved how it fit perfectly.

"Inuyasha? I was wondering. How did you get to that convenience store so fast? Shiro lives at least an hour from me so I know it's really out of the way for you."

"Well I sure as hell didn't drive."

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "You used your demon speed didn't you?"

Inuyasha smirked and nodded his head. "For you, I used my full demon speed. I knew I needed to get to you."

Kagome smiled and slouched in the seat.

"Wake me when we get to your house. My head still hurts." She needed some rest because the whole day was too extreme and that migrane was just adding insult to injury.

* * *

Inuyasha carried Kagome on his back into his house and heard Sesshomaru in his office doing paperwork. He knocked and barged in annoyingly.

"Hey Dr. Douchebag. You know any good remedies for a headache?"

Sesshomaru looked up at his brother with a blank stare that, to anyone that knew him, spelled out: I am irritated. "Yes. 2 doses of get the fuck away from me while I'm working."

"Seriously. Kagome has a bad headache."

"Take her upstairs and have sex with her."

Inuyasha's face went crimson at the thought. He didn't even know how to respond. "T-That's not helpful!"

"You wanted my advice. Now get away. I'm trying to work." He said passively, shooing his brother.

"Thanks for nothing, asshole."

"Just get her a cold compress and stop being such a nuisance. Maybe you are giving her a headache."

Inuyasha scoffed and took Kagome to his bedroom. He laid her in the bed and put a cold compress on her head. He just wanted to take care of her. By take care of her, he meant have Jaken run around doing all the things he thought of. He buzzed for his butler who quickly came to his room.

"How may I help you, Master Inuyasha?"

"Kagome is really not feeling well. Can you make something that'll make her feel…I dunno…happy?"

"Of course, sir. Would you like something?"

"Cake. A big ass piece of cake. And some milk."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Kagome was woken up by the smell of cake and waffles. She wasn't sure if she was still half sleep or that was really happening.

"Hey, you're awake!" Inuyasha said, stuffing the last of his cake in his mouth.

'I see. this is really happening. I thought I was dreaming about a bakery.'

"Yeah. My head still hurts a bit but not as bad as before." She got off the bed and went to the bathroom.

Inuyasha finished his milk and wiped the cake off his face. "Damn. I get the munchies like a pot head."

* * *

Kagome walked out the bathroom with a sad look on her face.

Inuyasha stood up and looked at her. "You alright?"

Tears started to roll down her cheeks as they continued to stare into each other's eyes. Inuyasha saw something beautiful behind that sadness and wanted to do something to bring it forward. Kagome got close to him, reached her arms around him and kissed him. Inuyasha's eyes almost rolled into the back of his head and he fell back onto his bed. His entire body felt like it was on fire from the feeling of her soft, sweet lips. He waited so long, too long to kiss her and he never wanted to let her go. She pulled away from his lips to look into his amber eyes. They had a certain softness to them. She was hypnotized by them and the way they had nothing to hide from her.

"I love you." Kagome said with a smile, happy to finally admit it.

"I love you too." Inuyasha replied without hesitation, glad to share his feelings with her.


	28. I Always Believed You

Inuyasha flipped Kagome underneath him and kissed her hard. He wanted to make up for all those times he wanted to do this and couldn't. He wanted to make up for all the times she felt hurt. He ran his fingers through her hair. He touched her face, and ran his hands down her sides. He was free to touch her, free to love her, free to call her his.

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha, that softness never left his eyes and she wouldn't mind if it never did. She rubbed his cheek and he leaned into her hand. There weren't enough words in any language to describe how she felt. The only thing that existed in that moment was the two of them. She reached up and gently rubbed his ears for the first time, something she had secretly wanted to do for a while. Inuyasha gave her a sweet smile and kissed her forehead. Everything felt like it was going to be okay for both of them.

"Kagome. I'll never hurt you."

"And I'll never leave your side."

"I believe you." He promised.

"I always believed you." She pointed out.

Inuyasha lifted her up and wrapped her legs around him. He moved to his side of the bed close to his desk.

"You haven't eaten today, have you?"

Kagome shook her head as Inuyasha took a chocolate covered strawberry and fed it to her. He ended up feeding her like a baby while she sat in his lap.

His brother knocked on his door and walked in to see the amusing sight. Inuyasha was in bed with Kagome on top of him feeding her strawberries and Belgian waffles.

"I thought you said she wasn't your woman."

"Why did you just come in? I don't remember saying 'come in'"

"Hi Sesshomaru!"

"Hello, Kagome. Are you feeling better?"

"Why am I being ignored?" Inuyasha spoke up.

"Yes, much better."

"Rin and I will be gone for the evening. We are going to take her youngest brother to a winter show."

Inuyasha made snoring sounds. "Sounds boring."

"How adorable!" Kagome said, her face beaming.

"I mean fun! It sounds like fun!"

Kagome and Sesshomaru looked at Inuyasha and rolled their eyes.

"Goodnight." Sesshomaru left and closed the door behind him.

"Inuyasha take a picture with me so I can send it to Sango."

Kagome held her phone up to them ready to snap the picture. Just when she was about to hit the button, Inuyasha turned her head and kissed her. When Kagome looked at the picture she took, it made her blush.

"We look perfect together!" Kagome cooed, showing him the picture.

Inuyasha was pleased with how happy they looked together. Not only would they feel it, but the whole world would see it. He was even more pleased with the fact that sadness didn't even exist in her scent. It was as though it was never there for so long.

She sent the picture to Sango and not long after, received a text.

":O_ It's about time lol. Love you both! you doing okay?"_

Kagome smiled at the text and quickly responded.

"_Love you too! and I'm ok now. I think I'm finally ok."_


	29. Shower, Interrupted

**WARNING: LEMON ;)**

**(sure, the lemon is my longest chapter too lmao)**

**well uh...enjoy and write more reviews!**

**-VQ**

* * *

Inuyasha and Kagome were lying in bed watching movies, snuggled up close just enjoying each other's company. It was starting to get late and Inuyasha had to get up early.

"I have practice tomorrow." He spoke softly into her hair kissing the top of her head.

"Okay, I guess I'll get ready to go home." She said as she started to get up.

"No." He pleaded as he pulled her back into his arms. "Stay with me."

Kagome relaxed against Inuyasha's chest. "Okay."

"I'm gonna take a shower. You uh...wanna join me? " He asked nervously.

Kagome was very insecure about her body. Even though she had shown Inuyasha the scars, they still made her scared to take her clothes off in front of anyone. "I dunno." She said timidly, looking off to the side.

"It's okay. You don't have to." Inuyasha got off the bed and headed towards the shower.

Kagome sighed and continued to lie in bed. She was contemplating joining Inuyasha in the shower because she really wanted to. The only thing holding her back was her scars.

She thought that over again.

The only thing holding her back was her scars.

'That's the stupidest thing ever. I'm letting my past ruin my present and my future.' She removed her clothes and rushed in the bathroom to join Inuyasha who was already washing up. She stepped behind the shower door and he turned around. She quickly turned her back to him and covered her red face.

Inuyasha looked at her in confusion and then looked at her butt. 'Hmm. Nice ass.' He thought as he got close to her and put his hands on her waist. He knew she was nervous and scared and he also knew why.

"Turn around for me. I wanna see something."

Kagome slowly turned to face him with her eyes covered with one hand and her stomach covered with her arm. Inuyasha smiled at how cute and bashful she was being. He moved her hand off her face first.

"Why are you hiding your face from me?"

Kagome tried to force down her nervous smile and shrugged. Her cheeks were still glowing pink and she couldn't make eye contact with him.

He moved her arm away from her sides. She covered her face and tried to turn around again but Inuyasha stopped her.

"Don't do that. I _want_ to look at you." He gently took her hands off her still red face and held them. He stepped back an inch and looked at his nervous girlfriend.

She had beautiful full breasts with pink nipples. Her hourglass figure beautifully connected to her perfect legs. Inuyasha noticed the scars on her sides again and a scar on her upper thigh that he hadn't seen before. He gently ran his fingers over it and her face turned redder. He then ran his fingers over the scars on her sides and knelt to kiss her navel.

"That's what you were worried about? I don't think these scars could change one bit of how unbelievably beautiful you are."

"I still feel…I dunno…like a weirdo."

"You are a weirdo. It's just not because of the scars."

Kagome looked down at him and laughed. She was beginning to feel a bit more comfortable with her body.

"You have history. It's not a big deal. And besides. I don't care about 'em. And I'm the only one who's gonna see 'em. Right?"

She giggled and rubbed his ears. "Right."

He kissed her navel again and stood up.

Kagome decided to take the attention off herself and get a good look at Inuyasha. She could finally stare at that cut body of his and his perfect six pack that she finally got to run her fingers down. When her hand went down to his waistline her eyes widened when she saw his "extra piece of equipment."

"I don't mean to sound so…straight-forward but…you have a really big uh..." She mentioned, pointing.

Inuyasha started to laugh and covered it with his hand.

"I can still see it! It's _that_ big."

Inuyasha lifted Kagome up bridal style and took her out the shower.

"Where are we going?"

He sat her down on his bathroom counter, got on his knees and spread her legs.

"I wanna see what _you_ have."

He examined the pink lips and little clitoris she had. He also liked the scent it gave off. And the fact that she had no hair between her legs never went unnoticed. Her skin was smooth to the touch and he loved it.

"You shave?"

"No, Laser"

"What?"

"W-well Sango's mom gives us free laser treatments so the hair won't grow where we don't want it to."

Inuyasha chuckled and thought about what Miroku's reaction would be if he found that out about Sango.

He wanted to see more of it and began to spread her apart with his fingers.

Kagome gasped as she was touched there by a guy for the first time. "Inuyasha don't touch it."

"How come?"

"It makes me…"

"Horny?"

"I wasn't going to say that."

"You didn't have to. I could smell it in your scent."

Busted. Kagome gave him a playful leer. "Damn you and your nose."

Inuyasha smirked at her and gently ran his finger between her legs. He could feel that was she wet and liked what he was doing.

"I'm so lucky that I get to see you like this. I will never do anything to fuck this up."

"I know, I know."

He stood up and held Kagome close to him. He loved to have her close and the feeling of their body heat while naked made him both aroused and happy at the same time. He wanted to hold her for the rest of his life. He even wanted to hold her in the afterlife. He didn't care if anything more than what they were doing just now happened. He just wanted to have Kagome.

"Listen. If you don't want me to do anything else, I'll stop. I'll wait until you're ready."

Kagome bit her lip and blushed cutely. Her voice was low, almost inaudible to human ears. "What if I said I was ready?"

"I'd take you to the bed" he licked his lips and got close to her ear. His gentle voice turned into a whisper. "and I'd show you just how much I really love you. You know what they say: Actions speak louder than words."

"Show me." She whispered back, gently rubbing her hands over his muscles.

He smirked and picked her up off the counter. He gently plopped her onto his bed and dimmed his lights. He hovered over the love of his life, his body guarding her like a four pillar shelter. He would protect her and love her all the same. She looked up at him nervously. Her eyes filled with an uncertainty about doing this right.

Inuyasha gently pressed his lips against hers. The feeling of his gentle kiss had awoken something special in her soul. She felt like a caged bird who had just been freed from her prison as their bodies moved as one. He was able to follow her hands without looking and keep in tune with all her slight movements as she gyrated against his body.

All of Inuyasha's senses were tuned into Kagome. He could hear her heartbeat and her sighs. He could smell her scent. Sweet, pure, aroused and excited. He could feel her soft lips and her skin tickling his rough hands. All he could see was her and that glow in her eyes. She looked at him as though he was perfect but he thought she was the perfect one. His nose couldn't ignore the scent coming from below and he wanted to get closer to it.

He slowly slid down Kagome's body, his hands trailing a path down her arms and her thighs, tickling her skin, sending high voltage shocks through her body. Inuyasha placed his head between her legs and took her clit between his lips. His actions were rewarded with a moan. The first moan he had ever heard pass her lips and it pleased him to know he was pleasing her. He gently sucked on her clit as her body began to move on its own accord. Kagome's hands were cupping her breasts as her back arched off the bed. Inuyasha was satisfied with the fact that he didn't have to do much to make her feel a lot but he would have done a lot even if it only made her feel a little. Inuyasha lapped at Kagome making her shiver from the feeling of his rough tongue stimulating her. His movements were slow but powerful and Kagome whimpered at his mercy as he pleased her. He stuck his tongue inside her core and the warm wetness gripped his tongue like a venus flytrap. He wondered how it would feel to be trapped inside her. She tasted so sweet, so warm. The length of his tongue was able to feel her in tact hymen that he wanted to break through. He just wanted to feel her with more than his tongue. He wanted to feel like a knight breaking into a castle to take the princess away.

Tonight, he wanted to take his princess.

Inuyasha removed his tongue and hovered over Kagome again. That glow still in her eyes and that softness in his.

"I never imagined my first time would be like this at all. I never even imagined being with a half demon." Kagome smiled.

Inuyasha looked at her cute smile curiously. "What did you think your first time would be like?"

"Non existent." She said with a laugh. "I thought I was going to die a lonely teacher with a bunch of cats as friends."

Inuyasha chuckled at her assumption. "Cats? No, no. No cats. And you're definitely not going to die alone. I'll always be with you. But you gotta promise me one thing."

"What is it?"

"Stop smoking. I lost my mother to cancer. I don't want to lose you too. I don't think my heart could take it."

Kagome stroked his cheek and nodded. "I promise you. I'm never gonna smoke again. I probably won't even want to."

She reached her arms around Inuyasha's neck and pulled him in for a kiss. She trusted him and knew everything there was to know about him: His demon blood, his instincts, the mate marking, and how he transformed to full demon. She even knew about the nights he would turn full human. She didn't care at all. He was who he was in his blood. It was who he was in his heart that made her love him.

He kissed his way down to Kagome's neck and she gasped. He licked the end of her neck, right where it met her shoulder. "I want to mark you. I want you to be my mate."

"Mmm-hmm." Was all she said as she ran her fingers through his hair.

Inuyasha didn't want to waste any more time. He wanted to show her how much he loved her and how badly he wanted to be one with her. He slowly and slightly entered her tight cavern as she grimaced a bit from pain. He nuzzled her cheek and kissed her.

"I'm sorry." he whispered.

Kagome gave a slight smile through her pained face. She wanted to do this. She wanted to give herself to him and take him for herself. She wasn't going to let a little discomfort stop her. "It's okay. No pain no gain."

Inuyasha nodded and entered her further until he felt something pop and make way for him to delve in deeper. He could smell her blood and he didn't like the fact that he was hurting her and making her bleed. He stayed still once he got all the way inside Kagome, squeezed his eyes shut and winced.

Kagome also had her eyes squeezed shut but once Inuyasha stopped she had time for her body to adjust to him being inside her. She heard him let out a small whimper and wondered if she was hurting him too.

"Are you okay?" She asked with a strained voice.

Inuyasha was more than okay. He was just trying to hold back from shouting something like 'holy shit this feels so good.' 'now I see why all the guys always talk about doing this. 'this was worth the wait.' "Yes. Don't worry about me. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine now. You don't have to stay still. It's not really sex if we both lie here like this." She said through a smile.

Inuyasha began to slowly stroke in and out of Kagome as her whimpers turned into moans and she began to immensely enjoy the way he slid in and out of her. She screwed up her face from enjoyment and laid her arms flat above her head. She was willing to let Inuyasha have everything.

He was taking whatever he could get and giving Kagome all he had. The way her body swallowed him up every time he went all the way inside drove him crazy. "It feels...so...fucking...good." He whispered as his movements became a little rougher. Kagome reached her arms around him and ran her nails down his back. This time, he was moaning for her.

"Can I…cum in you?" He asked through his heavy breathing.

Kagome nervously bit her lip "What if I get pregnant?" She asked through her slight moans.

"Judging by your scent, you won't. You're not in heat. Even if you did, I'd take care of my baby…both of my babies." He smirked.

Kagome smiled and nodded. She kind of liked—well, loved the fact that he had demon blood. His nose was probably the greatest form of contraception she could ever have.

Inuyasha slowed down his movements. He was still hitting spots inside of Kagome giving her so much pleasure, but his movements were almost still.

He kissed her chin.

Kissed her cheek.

Whispered "I love you so much" in her ear.

And he held her hands while he stroked into her.

He pressed his body to hers; their heartbeats were practically in sync. Kagome couldn't tell whose was whose. Even their breathing was in sync. They were both gasping at the same speed, moans following one another's, sweating and feeling delirious.

"I was so hurt before I met you." Kagome confessed through her moans.

"So was I." He sighed. "Oh, Kagome. I hope you feel as good as I do right now."

"Uh huh. All I know is I don't want you to stop."

Inuyasha shook his head and gently nicked her behind her ear. "I don't want to stop. Not till you cum all over me."

Kagome let out a loud moan. She could feel herself coming close and Inuyasha was coming close too. His low growls were vibrating in his chest against her, turning her on more.

Kagome wanted to act out all her fantasies with him. She wanted all her dreams to come true. "Inuyasha, make me cum!" She whined out.

Inuyasha let out a slight moan and picked up his speed. His movements were swift and rough and Kagome's eyes were rolling in the back of her head as he sucked on her earlobe and let out more low growls in her ear. His nose was telling him how close she was, and it was bringing him closer. He reached a hand down and began rubbing her clit while he continued stroking.

Kagome could feel it happening and she wanted it to happen. She involuntarily squeezed her inner muscles on his penis, earning a loud groan from him.

"It's…so fucking tight. I'm gonna cum."

"Me too." She slurred, mouth agape and dry as she struggled for air.

He rubbed her clit harder and faster as she released a silent scream along with cum and he quickly followed after, releasing warm fluid into her. She could feel him release inside her along with the mark he put on her neck. Her whole body burned up like she had a fever and she sighed heavily as their first time came to a close.

Inuyasha gently lifted his warm mouth from Kagome's neck as his red flashing eyes quickly returned to normal. He sealed the bleeding spot with his saliva so it would heal and smiled at the mark he left. She reached her hand to her neck tracing the mark that she felt so happy to have.

She looked up at him and smiled. Inuyasha planted a kiss on her smile and pulled out of her.

"I'm so happy. I wish I could mark you too." Kagome said softly.

He stood up and looked at the small amount of blood on himself. "You kind of did. I have your blood on me. That means something—at least to me it does."

Kagome giggled and reached down between her legs. She could feel a mixture of her fluid and his inside of her. "I'm all sticky." She said with a pouty voice.

Inuyasha looked at his phone. It was 2AM and he had a missed call from Miroku. 'He'll understand why I didn't call back.' "Well let's get back in the shower and go to bed." He reached out his hand to her and pulled her out the bed.

Kagome walked to the shower first and Inuyasha watched as cum dripped down her leg and he liked the fact that some of it was his and the rest was because of him.


	30. Practice

Jaken knocked on the door and Inuyasha slowly opened his eyes.

"Master Inuyasha! It's time to wake up. Also, Master Miroku has come to visit you."

Inuyasha sat up and looked over at Kagome with a smile on his face. "Tell him to come in here."

"Will there be anything else, sir?"

"I need a redbull."

"Sir, I would advise that you eat first."

"Okay bring me some eggs and sausage and toast for myself and Kagome. A lot. 'Cause I have practice and I need my carbs anyway."

"Right away, sir."

Inuyasha laid back in his bed. It was 7:30. He had practice in 3 hours and Kagome was knocked out. 'She could probably sleep through a dinosaur ripping through this place as tired as she was last night.' He smirked cunningly.

"Kagome." Inuyasha spoke softly into her ear as she turned over. "Wake up."

"No, 5 more minutes." She whined as she snuggled close to him.

Inuyasha held his mate in his arms and stroked her hair. He looked up and smiled as Miroku walked into his bedroom.

"You finally came back home, brother?" Inuyasha gave his best friend a pound as he sat down in the chair at his desk.

"Yeah, man. Feels good to be home." He sighed and looked at Kagome sleeping in Inuyasha's arms. The sight didn't faze him, Especially because Sango told him that morning they were together and even forwarded the picture to him. The only thing was: Kagome had on a spaghetti strap shirt and Miroku could see her mate mark. That surprised him.

"Brother. You claimed her last night?" Miroku asked in a low whisper.

Inuyasha proudly nodded. "Yeah. I gotta admit, I didn't think things were gonna be like this."

"I told you, Inuyasha. You two seemed very fit for one another. I for one am very happy for you."

Jaken brought in Inuyasha and Kagome's breakfasts, placed the tray on his desk, bowed and left again.

"Hey." Inuyasha whispered to her sweetly. "You want breakfast?"

Kagome opened her eyes and gave him a sweet and innocent look. "Mmm hmm." She sat up and looked at Miroku sitting at the desk.

"Good morning." She said while rubbing her eyes. "When did you get home?"

"Around 1 AM. I called but Inuyasha didn't pick up. I guess you two were busy."

"Very busy." She admitted with a smile.

Miroku laughed and stood up. "I'll see you two later. I'm going over to Sango's house. She wants to come to practice with me."

"I wanna go to practice with you!" Kagome spoke up looking at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha's face beamed. He was happy she wanted to be with him. "Aww you wanna watch me practice?"

"I wanna see Sango."

Inuyasha's smile immediately got turned upside down. "Oh, I see. That's cool."

Miroku laughed as he zipped up his jacket. "Sango is probably only going with me because she believes Kagome will go with you. Let's just be glad they'll be with us. I'll see you there."

Inuyasha nodded as his friend walked out. He turned back to Kagome with an angry face and crossed his arms.

Kagome kissed his nose and gave him a sweet smile. "You know I want to watch you on the ice. I just want to be there with Sango too."

Unable to keep his angry face, he smiled. "Okay. Let's eat then."

* * *

Inuyasha parked by the rink and smiled when he saw Miroku's Mercedes parked already. Miroku's family was wealthy but not as wealthy as Inuyasha's, but none of that mattered to either of them. He got out the car holding Kagome's hand and the two walked in like rock stars wearing matching sunglasses. She felt good walking with her head held high and someone by her side to keep her going. He was the best thing that could have happened to her.

The two walked in and Kagome rushed up to Sango the second she saw her.

Sango's face lit up as she wrapped her arms around her best friend. She was glad to see her well and happy.

"So how's everything with you and Inuyasha?"

Kagome smiled and sighed wistfully. "It's going so great. Look." She moved her jacket to show Sango the mate mark.

"Is that a—"

"Yes."

"So you guys did—"

"Yes."

"And now you're—"

"Yes! Sango he's my mate." Kagome giggled happily and hugged her best friend again. Sango was so excited and knew Inuyasha would be good to her.

"What about you and Miroku?"

Sango gave her a mischievous smile and shrugged. "Well. I don't have the mark or anything but we are an item. He wanted to make it official this morning when he picked me up." Sango held out her hand to show off a heart shaped ring. "He gave me a promise ring. He's such a sweet guy."

"Aww" Kagome smiled, studying the ring. "I wish you both the best."

The two sat down and watched their hockey stars on the ice getting their practice in. Their coach set up a 3 on 3 and Miroku and Inuyasha were really kicking ass that morning.

"Come the fuck on!" Koga shouted angrily. "They're showing off."

"I'm not showing off!" Miroku argued. "I always play 150 times better than you, so naturally I would be playing this well."

"Do they always argue like this?" Sango asked Kagome on the sidelines.

Kagome sighed heavily. "Yeah. It's annoying. But Koga has been playing awful this whole season apparently. I think he's dealing with something."

* * *

Once practice was over and all the guys showered and changed, Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Koga, Ginta and Hakkaku all stood outside chatting, while Hiten and his girlfriend stayed to themselves in a corner making out. Little did they know, everyone was watching them.

"Eww." Kagome said in a low voice.

"I know." Miroku agreed. "Are you even supposed to do that with your tongue?"

"Uh...So what does everyone have planned for Christmas?" Sango asked, trying to avert everyone's attention.

Miroku and Inuyasha shrugged. They celebrated Christmas but it wasn't as big and family oriented for them as it was for Sango and Kagome. The two girl's families always came together at Kagome's house and celebrated like one family.

"You guys should come to my house for Christmas!" Kagome suggested. "Sango and I have always celebrated together."

Inuyasha nodded. "I'm down."

"It sounds like a nice idea. Count me in as well." Miroku said.

Sango turned to Koga, Ginta and Hakkaku. "What about you three? What are your plans?"

"W-we don't have any." Ginta spoke up.

"Yeah, we're about to age out of the group home in a few months so nobody gives a shit about us." Hakkaku added.

"Who gives a shit about Christmas? We need to find somewhere to live!" Koga barked.

Ginta and Hakkaku were fraternal twin brothers but actually weren't related to Koga at all. They just told everyone they were brothers since they lived in the same house.

"That's awful!" Kagome said, putting a hand on Koga's shoulder. "You guys should come to my house too." As much as Kagome couldn't stand Koga, he wasn't evil and he probably just needed some love.

"What are you inviting those skinny wolves for?" Inuyasha scoffed.

"Inuyasha! They don't have family and I think they deserve a nice Christmas." She turned back to the three wolves. "What do you say?"

They all apprehensively nodded to Kagome's kindness. They learned that she's not so bad. Maybe calling her a bitch was way too harsh.

* * *

Christmas morning was beautiful. Everyone opened up all their gifts at Kagome's house. Inuyasha gave Kagome a red coat to replace her favorite one. It was more beautiful than the old one she had. He also got her a bunch of beautiful clothes, a pair of diamond earrings and a beautiful necklace to match. He spoiled her every chance he got. She bought him a pair of custom sweatpants with his hockey number 12 on it and a gold key that said "he who holds this holds the key to my heart." He promised to treasure it. Miroku bought Sango a beautiful Kimono, since the ring was an early Christmas gift. Sango bought him a shirt and a dog tag that said "I am your yesterday and your tomorrow." He told her that when he confessed his love to her.

Koga, Ginta and Hakkaku were happy to have something to do for Christmas. Everyone made them feel welcome and Kagome's grandpa even offered them jobs in the shrine so they could find their own home.

They had a beautiful, unforgettable holiday and couldn't wait to share many more together.


	31. As Life Continues

Four months had gone by. Kagome and Inuyasha's relationship had grown beautifully over time. Kagome's mother cried tears of joy when they told her they finally started dating. She thought they were perfect for one another and she trusted Inuyasha. Sometimes he would stay at her house (mainly to keep tabs on Koga when he worked at the shrine) and he would drive Kagome's mother around when she needed to go somewhere. Kagome's grandfather really took to Inuyasha because he actually liked all the ancient history stories.

The last term of school was always eventful from the first day on. Kagome had art with Sango and Ginta, so half of her short day was always fun. When Kagome would stay for lunch with Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku, it was fun to watch Sango scare girls who liked to flirt with Miroku. One girl saw Sango's face and did a U-Turn out of fear. Girls were afraid to go anywhere near Miroku.

People backed off and respected the fact that Kagome and Inuyasha were mated. Demons and humans alike understood the unbreakable bond between mates and wouldn't bother to step on anyone's toes, especially because no one wanted to see Inuyasha turn full demon...again.

Sesshomaru and Rin's wedding was beautiful. Kagome even had wine for the first time at the reception—which was something she would never do again, at least not so much at once. Aside from the alcohol, she wanted her wedding to be as wonderful as theirs, minus all the stuffy business people who wouldn't dance to any of the music.

Inuyasha decided when he graduated, he would play for The Tokyo Dragons pro Hockey team and off-season, he would work at his father's company. It meant a lot to Sesshomaru and he told him the company was just as much his as it was their father's, so how could he say no?

Kagome was of course happy with his decision. She had gotten into the Tokyo Teacher's College and would fulfill her dream of being a middle school history teacher. The two of them supported each other's dreams.

Miroku was also going to play for the Tokyo Dragons but he also planned on going to the Institute of Technology to study engineering. He didn't want his intelligent mind to go to waste.

Sango on the other hand was going to Kokushikan University to study martial arts. She wanted to open up her own school and teach women and children self defense.

They all wanted to be near each other.

April had just begun. Graduation was close, along with Kagome's birthday. She wasn't intending to let anything ruin this month. Between finals, college entrance exams and her birthday, she didn't want anything to get in her way.

Normally, when you want things to go smoothly, the road ahead is poorly paved and bumpy. Getting over it is a task…if you can get over it.


	32. Shiro's Fate

Kagome had a court trial, regarding Shiro. She spent hours talking to Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku about it. They were all supportive of her decision to want to go to the case. She didn't want to hide and she wanted to know what would happen firsthand. She felt like she had to go. After class, Kagome went in the bathroom, put on her suit for court and Inuyasha drove her to the courthouse. The drive was dead silent. He wanted to give her time to think and prepare herself.

"I love you" Kagome said softly, breaking the silence.

"I know. I love you too." He smiled at her as they pulled up at the courthouse.

Kagome gave him a kiss and got out of the car. She told him she wanted to do this alone, and he let her, only promising to pick her up afterward.

* * *

Shiro had strangled a nurse to death in the hospital because he thought she looked like Kagome. The court declared that he should be placed into a mental hospital after he received a psychological evaluation, which he failed miserably when he was shown inkblots and said all of them were Kagome. He told a psychiatrist that everything in life was Kagome, including air and his obsession was highly disturbing. Some days he would want to kill her and other days he would cry and say he missed her. The psychiatrists also diagnosed him with multiple personality disorder.

He was given an opportunity to speak to the court after ruling.

"I did hurt her. I hurt her a lot. I didn't like doing it, I just lost it every time I thought I was going to lose her. She's perfect, you know? I kept fucking up more and more and it made me crazy and instead of punishing myself, I punished her. Some fucked up part of me thought if I made her fear me, she'd respect me and I wouldn't have to worry about her goin' nowhere. She still left me. She left me twice. And now I may die from this infection cuz of that rusty knife." Shiro chuckled slightly. "It's my fault. I…I need help. I don't wanna hurt nobody else. I just feel so angry and scared and alone. I'm my own worst enemy. I'm a monster."

Shiro turned to Kagome and their eyes locked. His, filled with regret and hers filled with resentment. "Kagome. I am truly sorry for everything I did to you. I am so absolutely in love with you that it makes me crazy. I'll be away for a long, long time, even until I die. Because I can't let you go. I gave you reasons to stop loving me but I never stopped loving you. I am so sorry. I know you hate me and want me to let you go but I can't. I never will. I pretend my pillow is you and I kiss it and call it Kagsy. You will always be my baby. Even if you stay with Taisho. You were it for me. I know I'm not gonna live much longer, but I'm gonna die for you. I love you so much."

Kagome stood up and walked out the courtroom. She had the option to not show up there but she wanted to push herself and be strong. She thought she might have pushed herself too far. Her lawyer texted her and told her she didn't have to stay any longer and she could leave. So she left. She walked out the courthouse and stood there crying. She was angry, disgusted, disturbed and frightened all at once. The thought of him fantasizing about her and fawning over her made her sick. She needed Inuyasha.

"Hey, you all done?"

"Y-Yeah. How far away are you?"

"Only a few minutes. You okay?"

"Not at all. Please hurry."

"I'll be there soon."


	33. Pushing Me Away

Kagome stood impatiently on the curb waiting for Inuyasha, Shiro's words echoing through her mind like someone was playing a tape just to torture her. She couldn't shake it out of her mind. 'What the hell is wrong with that guy? Why can't he just let me go?' She felt trapped in his clutch. Kagome hated Shiro and the fact that he probably enjoyed having this over her head. He wanted her to think about him, possibly even dream about him. And she was giving him what he wanted because she couldn't find it in herself to let this go.

Soon after, Inuyasha parked his car in front of her and opened the doors. He smiled at her as she got in, but it quickly faded upon seeing her sad face.

"You okay?" He asked, placing a hand on her cheek.

Kagome wasn't okay at all. She was angry, afraid, disturbed, confused and felt shut down. "No." She answered flatly, shaking her head and pushing his hand away from her face.

Inuyasha felt like a snake had bitten his heart and the venom was slowly releasing itself into it. He wanted to say more to her, but wasn't sure if now was a good time to.

They drove in silence. A half hour of silence to his house. The silence was loud, leaving the two of them with their thoughts practically screaming at them.

Once they arrived at Inuyasha's, Kagome went into Inuyasha's room to find a bouquet of roses on his desk. She picked them up and studied them as Inuyasha followed behind her, a forced smirk on his face.

"What are these for?"

"They're for you." He looked down. "I-I wanted to get you something to let you know I was proud of you for, you know, being strong and going through with that case."

Kagome dropped the flowers and locked herself in the bathroom. Inuyasha's heart felt like the venomous snake inside was slowly killing him. Everything that day was wrong. The anguish and fear in her scent, the remnants of resentment he could sense. That wasn't his usual Kagome and he was afraid. He could hear her crying on the other side of the door and all he wanted to do was hold her.

"Kagome. Please come out of there and talk to me. You can't stay in there forever and I have to pee."

"Go away! Go use another bathroom. There are like 50 of them here. Leave me alone."

Her words struck him like daggers. He didn't understand why she had to hurt him just because it was hurting. She was making him feel like it was his fault when they both knew it wasn't. He wanted to tell her how upset she made him and hold her while she cried at the same time.

"I can't go away. You're crying. You can't tell me I brought you all the way here so you could lock yourself in the bathroom."

"Well then just take me home! I don't care. I don't wanna be here anyway."

That was the last of the venom traveling through his heart. If there was anyone that could really hurt his feelings, it was Kagome. What was really hurting him was the fact that she was in so much pain and taking it out on him.

'Is she doing this on purpose so I'll leave her alone? Fine. I'll leave her alone.' Inuyasha walked out his room and roughly shut the doors behind him.

Once Kagome heard the doors close, she came out the bathroom and went in the closet to get something to change into. She didn't want to be in those courtroom clothes anymore. Inuyasha had modified his closet and one side of it was hers. She was happy with that. She was just angry at the moment because she didn't want him to keep asking her what was wrong. Kagome pulled out some of her shorts and one of Inuyasha's tee shirts and went in the bathroom to take a shower. She didn't lock the door, though. She wanted a way to show Inuyasha she wasn't hiding from him.

Inuyasha shortly returned to his room drinking a soda. He heard the shower running and noticed the door was ajar. He took off his school uniform and went to join Kagome.

He opened the glass door and hugged Kagome from behind. That anguish was still in her scent and he held her to let her know 'It's okay. I'm here.'

She turned to look at him. She ran the loofah down his chest and looked at his scared eyes with her sad eyes. She got on her tippy toes and kissed him gently. It was her silent way of saying 'I love you.'

He pulled her in by her waist and pushed her against the wall planting a rough kiss on her lips. One that said 'You hurt me and I'm angry. But I love you too.'

Kagome understood just as well as he did and tears began running down her face as her returned kiss said 'I'm so sorry.'

Inuyasha looked into her eyes, his forehead pressed to hers. He continued to rub his hands up and down her waist as she nervously bit her lip and looked off to the side. He pulled her chin up and forced her to look at him. He cocked his head and studied the blank emotion in her eyes. It was one he'd never seen before and he soon realized it was the face she displayed before she broke down.

He wasn't going to let her cry anymore. Not over this. He knew what he was getting into when he mated with her. He knew what he was getting into when he met her, when her scent carried sadness all the time. Still and yet, he couldn't leave her alone.

Inuyasha held her as she sobbed. He didn't know exactly what happened in that courtroom, but if she continued to hold on, it would destroy her.

"I'm here for you. I love you."

Kagome didn't want to cry anymore. She wanted to move on. It was like Shiro haunted every moment of her life. She felt like he'd never stop haunting her life, his spirit would probably even follow her around after he died. Shiro had so much control over her life, that her love life might have been too full of drama.

'This is why I wanted to be alone. This is exactly why.' She thought as she pushed Inuyasha off of her and got out the shower.

He hated the fact that she was pushing him away. It was killing him. He got out the shower, shook dry and followed her.

Kagome was getting dressed and gathering her things. She wanted to leave. She felt like she had to. 'I can't keep doing this to him. This isn't going to end.'

Inuyasha stood in shock for a moment watching her get a bag—a big bag and put all her things in it. 'This can't be happening. This isn't real. Not after everything we've been through together.' He remembered when his mother passed away, he remembered the day Kikyo walked away from him. And now Kagome was going on that list. His chest felt tight as the wounds in his heart slowly opened up again.

"A-Are you…leaving me?" He asked with a shaken voice.

Kagome couldn't bear to look at the face that matched that pained voice. "I have to. I can't be the girl you want. I feel like I've been cursed and this will be one problem after another. So I—"

"You have to get away?"

Kagome stood silent. She slowly nodded her head and continued to pack her things.

Inuyasha felt like her nod in agreement was a nod of death. It was strong enough to rip out his insides and leave him feeling empty. He started to grow angry. He couldn't believe she was running away after the promise she made. "You…you sound like Kikyo. You're never gonna come back. You're gonna leave when you promised you wouldn't."

Kagome dropped the clothes in her hand and looked up at Inuyasha. She had never seen him cry but judging by the pools in his eyes, he was about to and it was her fault.

"I-I'm not Kikyo. I'm not leaving you. I'm saving you from me."

Inuyasha began to cry as she continued to pack. Every article of clothing she put in her bag was another piece of her she was stealing away from him. He couldn't watch this anymore. He had to make her stay somehow.

"No!" He shouted. He pushed her bag onto the floor and picked her up and brought her onto his bed "You can't go. Please."

Kagome sat up and shook her head. "I can't stay. I'm never going to get away from Shiro. He may haunt my dreams, or follow me around or _something_. He told me he's never letting me go and if that's the case, how can I let him go? How can I stop thinking about his sick, twisted obsession with me? It's going to be one thing after another and Shiro is going to draw a wedge between us, now, in the future, maybe even forever. I've been cursed, Inuyasha. I can't have you mixed up in this."

Kagome stood back up and picked her bag up off the floor. She put more clothes inside as Inuyasha watched, tears in his eyes having difficulty thinking of what to say. He didn't care how hard it would be. He couldn't let her go. If he had to walk through the levels of hell for her, he would. But she couldn't leave.

He stood up and pushed her bag back on the floor. He put his arms around Kagome and kissed the mate mark on her neck. It started to feel warm, like he was remarking her and for a moment she forgot what she was doing.

"Do you understand what this mark means, Kagome? It makes us one. It's stronger than Shiro. It's even stronger than me. You think that bastard would haunt you if you walk away from me? He wouldn't. Every time you would touch your neck or look in the mirror, you'd be remembering me. If you stay, I'm not gonna worry about your nightmares or even if you have hallucinations that Shiro is standing by your side of the bed. You don't have to go through it alone. He's nobody. And you promised to stay by my side. You'd be hurting me more if you leave. So don't."

Kagome looked at Inuyasha, tears rolling down his face. She could sense the pain she had caused and started to understand that she'd be inheriting a bigger mess if she walked away from everything they built together. If it wasn't for him, she wouldn't have come this far. It would be wrong for her to just leave. There was just one thing she wanted to know.

"Inuyasha, did you mark me so I wouldn't leave you?"

"No. I marked you so you would know that I'd never leave _you_."

And everything made sense. She wiped away his tears and gave him a passionate kiss. One that said everything along the lines of apologies, please forgive me's, and other sentimental words that meant nothing unless shown.

Inuyasha understood everything that kiss had to relay and he stopped his tears. It didn't hurt this badly when Kikyo left. He could only imagine what would have happened if she did. He returned her kiss with one that relayed how afraid he was and how glad he was that she was staying.

The two pulled apart and smiled at each other.

"Don't ever do that again, Kagome. You scared me. I thought I was gonna be alone again."

Kagome shook her head emphatically. "I didn't mean any harm, I promise."

"I know." He whispered as he let out a sigh of relief. He was glad to know her scent had changed and she calmed down. Things were going to be okay. No matter what they had to face.

* * *

**ohhhhh I cried while writing this chapter lol I'm so emotional (maybe it's the pregnancy -.-) but keep giving feedback! Thanks for the reviews xoxo**

**-VQ**


	34. Life Becomes Exciting

**WARNING: This chapter also contains a slight lemon (sort of) ;)**

**-VQ**

* * *

Kagome had a beautiful 18th birthday. She had gone on a double date with Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku. They went to the movies and then to dinner. Miroku kept poking fun at the fact that Inuyasha was the youngest of all four of them, since he was still 17 and the rest of them weren't. Kagome had defended him and said she loved her winter baby. After their beautiful night out, she and Inuyasha took a cab back to his house.

_"Why didn't you take your car?" She asked_.

_"I probably would have crashed." He spoke in her ear as he placed his hand between her legs._

_She gasped for air as she slightly slid towards the door and Inuyasha had her cornered, hand still between her legs._

_"We haven't really been around each other when your scent was...like this. I'm gonna need a condom. Maybe a few." Inuyasha nuzzled into her hair, sliding her panties over to the side under her skirt and rubbing her wet spot._

_Kagome shut her eyes and bit her lip to avoid catching the driver's attention. Inuyasha lived a half hour from the restaurant and neither of them could wait that long._

_"Inu...yasha" she whispered his name and he growled on her neck, tracing his tongue on her mate mark, making her drip all over his fingers. She gasped for air as if she were suffocating as he slid two fingers inside her. It was taking everything in her power not to make any noise. She put her hand over her mouth and Inuyasha could hear her whimpers through her hand as he continued fingering her._

_He rubbed his thumb along her clit as she forced back one of her screams. He moved her hand off her mouth, turned her head and kissed her. Kagome inched closer to the door as she gently moaned into his mouth and slid her hand in his jeans, causing him to moan as her warm hand felt around in his jeans and slipped through his boxers._

_She pulled away from the kiss slightly and smiled._

_"Whoever cums first loses." Inuyasha said in a mischievous voice with a sinister smirk on his face as he went deeper with his fingers._

_"Mmm. You're cheating." She whined as she squeezed his shaft._

_"No." He pulled her hand out his pants and placed it to her chest, forcing her to squeeze her own breast. "This is cheating."_

_Kagome panted and spread her legs more as Inuyasha brought her to her peak and sucked on her neck. _

_Inuyasha smirked as a slightly louder whine escaped her lips. He looked up to see if the driver had noticed but fortunately, he didn't. He quickly turned back to Kagome as she slouched in the seat. "You're so close. Just a little bit more." He whispered as he pulled his fingers out and rubbed her clit with his wet fingers. "You like that?"_

_Kagome nodded her head and squeezed her eyes shut as she came._

_Inuyasha placed his fingers in his mouth and sucked Kagome's cum off them, making sure he didn't miss any of it. Kagome watched in a daze as he tongued the spaces between his fingers and looked into her eyes lustfully._

_'I don't feel like I lost.' She thought as she smiled and bit her lip._

* * *

All four of them had done well on their final exams and college entrance exams. Sesshomaru convinced Inuyasha to study business management at the Community College before inheriting his shares of the company and he had no problem getting in. When it came down to graduation, Kagome was chosen as Valedictorian with a 99.4 average and Miroku was Salutatorian with a 98.2. Inuyasha and Sango made jokes about dating genius robots, even though they weren't far behind with a 91 and 92 averages.

After Graduation, all of them spent a few months in Okinawa and surprisingly, Miroku did not look at any women except Sango. Inuyasha was proud that his friend had matured and resisted all the temptation of what he called 'beach bimbos.'

After their summer fun was over, everyone started school and a month later, Miroku and Inuyasha started playing Professional Hockey. Luckily, the two were taking online classes so they could attend to both of their important responsibilities and found it easier to do than they imagined. The guys had become celebrities and everyone who saw their girlfriends knew who they were too. Kagome found herself signing an autograph or two and life had become so exciting for all of them. It was a big change from what things used to be and how many problems there used to be.


	35. A Surprise Visit

Inuyasha had finally turned 18 and it was time for him to take his role as co-owner of Taisho Incorporated, a multi billion dollar marketing and sales company. Aside from a good first pro hockey season and being plastered all over the news, the greatest thing to happen was...

_It was around 2AM and Inuyasha was throwing rocks at Kagome's window._

_Kagome was woken up by the obnoxious sound and went to her window to find the pebble throwing culprit. When she opened her curtain, she saw Inuyasha standing there. She was somewhat confused but opened her window without hesitating._

_"Inuyasha, What are you doing here?" She whispered loudly with a smile on her face. _

_"I have to ask you something! It's important." He hopped onto her windowsill. "Come on let's get out of here."_

_Kagome had no clue what Inuyasha had planned but she was dying to find out. She quickly changed her clothes, put on her coat and grabbed her boots._

_Inuyasha pulled her onto his back and zoomed through the dimly lit and quiet city. Kagome giggled excitedly as the wind blew through her hair and the sounds of the ticking stoplight and only a few cars entered her ears. Inuyasha had only done this with her one other time and promised to do it again since she thought it was so much fun. _

_"Where are we going?" She asked, wide smile on her face and filled with anticipation._

_"You'll see."__He hopped on the highest rooftop and the two sat near the edge._

_"Wow! It's so beautiful." Kagome said, looking off at the view. Everything looked so small from where they were. _

_Inuyasha wrapped his arm around her as she rested her head on his shoulder._

_"So what did you want to ask me that was so important?"_

_Inuyasha took a deep breath before he began. "Well, I think things have been going really good for us. I'm happy. You're happy too, right?"_

_She looked up at him with a smile. "Of course! More than happy!"_

_Inuyasha blushed slightly. He felt so nervous about this. "I-I wanted to...give you this." He stood, reached into his pocket and got on one knee before her._

_Kagome turned to face him, shivering from excitement, smiling wide._

_"Kagome, when I met you, I never wanted to change a thing about you. I thought you were perfect and I still think you are. The only thing I ever wanted to change was the amount of happiness in your heart. There's just one more thing I want to change." He took a jewelry box out of his pocket and opened it, revealing a big, beautiful yellow diamond ring._

_Kagome's eyes widened and filled with tears of overwhelming joy. She could've sworn she'd forgotten how to speak._

_"I-I wanna change your last name. So...Ms. Kagome Higurashi. Will you be my Mrs. Kagome Taisho?"_

_Kagome nodded and extended her hand to him. She could hardly force out a yes because she was sobbing so hard._

_Inuyasha placed the ring on her finger, kissed her hand, then kissed her lips. _

_Kagome placed her arms around his neck and pulled him on top of her. She looked at her beautiful ring out the corner of her eye as she continued to kiss her husband-to-be._

* * *

Inuyasha came into the office for his first official day and Sesshomaru was showing him the ropes explaining exactly what he would have to do, which was a lot and very boring.

Sesshomaru laughed as he was watching Inuyasha sit at his desk spinning in his chair. He was remembering the first time he brought him to the office when he was a little boy.

_Inuyasha was holding his brother's hand looking around the company building and touching everything. Sesshomaru brought him to the office that would one day be his and he sat in the chair spinning around and laughing._

"_Big brother, when I grow up I'm gonna work here too?" He asked as he played with his toy cars on the desk._

"_Yes. This is our company. Our father left us a big responsibility."_

"_Just me an' you?"_

"_Yes. Just us. And when you get married and have children they will also be part of this company."_

"_Yuck! I ain't marrying no girls or having babies." Inuyasha protested, sticking out his tongue._

_Sesshomaru let out a slight chuckle. "You say that now, little brother."_

"Damn it, Sesshomaru this is a lot of work! I think I need a secretary or something."

"So? Hire one. I have a meeting with a potential company partner. Why don't you get acquainted with your work and start looking for an assistant to hire?"

Sesshomaru left his office and shut the door behind him. Inuyasha started looking on the computer at resumes of potential employees to work for him.

His intercom buzzed. "Mr. Taisho?" It was the desk attendant from the lobby.

"Yes?"

"A woman is downstairs. She said she's come to surprise you."

Inuyasha assumed it was Kagome. "Send her up, please." He fixed his collar, smoothed out his hair a bit and pretended to look busy and professional to impress his fiancé.

The door opened and a woman in a black suit and black heels walked in. She was definitely not Kagome.

Inuyasha stood at his desk completely shocked. "K-Kikyo? What are you doing here?" 'Seriously! What the fuck are you doing here?'

The beautiful, brown eyed, long black haired woman stood by his desk. "I'm sorry. Maybe I should have called beforehand. Is now a bad time?"

"Not really, I'm just…trying to find a secretary to hire." He chuckled nervously. "So what brings you all the way here?"

"You, actually." She sat down in the chair by his desk. "I saw your last game on TV and contemplated coming to visit you. I wanted to talk to you in person."

Inuyasha slowly nodded his head. He really wanted to know what she wanted.

"I've made a mistake; A lot of mistakes. Leaving Tokyo, going to art school—which I didn't even finish and getting married. My marriage ended faster than it had begun. Carmelo left me."

Inuyasha was laughing in his head. 'Karma's a bitch!"

"Leaving you was my biggest mistake." She admitted. "I-I was hoping maybe we could catch up and start over? I never forgot about you and I was hoping you never forgot about me."

Oh, how the tables have turned. Inuyasha was pissed off at this moment. She thought after what she did she could just come crawling back into his life two and a half years later?

"No chance, Kikyo. I'm engaged. _I'm_ getting married next month to a _beautiful_ woman. You know Kagome Higurashi right? That is my mate and soon-to-be wife. Too little, too late. I'm sorry about what happened between you and that guy and art school and whatever but I'm happy now. I wish you the best in your life."

"Kagome?" Kikyo lowered her sad eyes as she remembered Kagome, the young girl from her math class. She was sweet, quiet, cute and very smart. "How could I compete with that? I'll let myself out. I'm sorry I disturbed you." She quickly left his office without hesitation.


	36. Exchange Looks

Kagome was on her way to see Inuyasha in his Lamborghini. He told her she could drive it since he was breaking in the Rolls Royce. She parked and stepped out, feeling good about her day. Her last class was cancelled so that gave her more time to herself. As she was walking up to the building, she saw a woman dressed in black coming out and everything was suddenly in slow motion.

That woman turned out to be Kikyo.

And she saw Kagome. Getting out of Inuyasha's car wearing a blinding engagement ring on her finger.

Kikyo loathed that girl.

She gave Kagome the iciest grill as the two walked past each other. Kagome felt like she was walking through the north pole and that look could have froze her to death. She felt like Kikyo was telling her many things through that stare, each one worse than the last.

Once the longest three seconds of her life had ended and they walked past each other, Kagome, still feeling chills down her spine wondered what Kikyo was even doing there.

She entered the building and told the attendant at the desk she was Inuyasha's fiancé.

The woman let him know she was coming up.

"The 45th floor, ma'am." The woman told her with a smile.

"Thank You." Kagome quickly entered the elevator and took it to Inuyasha's office. During the ride, she was still trying to figure out what Kikyo was doing there. What did she say to Inuyasha? What did she _do_ to Inuyasha? Should she be worried? Maybe someone died and perhaps that's why she came all the way back to Tokyo? Kagome really had no idea what was going on and couldn't wait for an explanation or she wouldn't get over it.

Kagome got off the elevator and let herself into Inuyasha's office. He stood up and quickly walked over to her to greet her with a kiss. He was relieved to see her since Kikyo stopping by basically ruined his day. She was angry that he let Kikyo in his office but didn't want to jump to conclusions so she kept her composure and kissed him right back.

Inuyasha sat back at his desk and sighed; closing the book he was taking notes in to talk to Kagome.

"First things first. How was your day?" He asked, smiling at her as she sat on his desk.

"It was fine. I got a callback from that preschool. They want me to come in for an interview."

Inuyasha's mood picked up a lot more with Kagome's good news. "Great, I knew they'd call you back."

Kagome smiled and blushed a bit.

"Next thing. Kikyo was here."

"I know. I saw her when I was coming in. She gave me the coldest look. One that appeared to be a mix between 'drop dead.' and 'I hope your little head explodes. She's so creepy.'"

Inuyasha's eyes widened when she told him that. He felt like he made a mess. "Well it's no one's fault except hers. She shouldn't have even looked at you like that." He put his face in his palms and sighed heavily.

"What was she doing here anyway?" Kagome asked, playing with a lock of his hair.

"She came to tell me how her marriage failed and she didn't finish art school and should have stayed here."

"Oh, cue the violin." Kagome said, rolling her eyes.

"Then she told me she wanted to start over with me."

Kagome could feel anger coursing through her veins. She wanted to go track Kikyo down and punch her in her face for trying to get _her_ fiancé. Not only that, how dare she come back after what she did to him? She sees how well he's doing and wants a piece? Not if Kagome could help it! She was so infuriated and annoyed, but tried to appear calm.

Inuyasha wasn't buying it. He could smell the rage in her scent. "Calm down, Kagome. I told her about our engagement and that I'm happy now. I told her she was too late. So why bother?"

Kagome smirked triumphantly. Inuyasha was right. Why bother? There was nothing in this world that could take him away from her.

Except work.

Sesshomaru came barging in his office. "I have a job for you."

Inuyasha whined. "I don't wanna work at work. It's not fun!"

Sesshomaru dropped a stack of papers on his desk. "All you have to do is pick 50 qualified applicants to market for our new partners according to company standards. With the workload split amongst us evenly, you'll see it isn't as demanding as it appears." He turned to Kagome and smiled slightly. "I'm hoping you won't be a distraction from his tasks."

Kagome smiled and shook her head. "No, I'll make sure he does his work."

"Good." He turned to go out the door. "I'm going home."

"What? You can't leave me here!"

"This is your company as well, Inuyasha. I've already taken care of all the meetings. The most exciting thing that will happen is my secretary bringing you more applications or emails from interested partners. And you can forward those to me. Now goodbye." Sesshomaru left for the day and everything was on Inuyasha's shoulders.

Inuyasha groaned and put his head on his desk. Kagome came behind him and gave him a shoulder massage.

"Don't get all worked up, Inuyasha. Think about what you said to me in high school about how you weren't the wealthy one. Now you are! All you have to do is your part in running this company. Imagine how much you can do for it!"

Inuyasha sat up and looked at the big folder in front of him. 'Why does this woman have so much faith in me?' He thought. 'But then again, she's right. My mate knows best.'


	37. Epilogue

"Everything that lead up to this moment…I never thought I'd get this far. From losing my father, to dating an abusive psychopath, to picking up a bad cigarette habit, then dropping it for…you, the man of my dreams. I've gone through so much to get to you and I'm so glad I survived all these years and dealt with all this sadness for you. You've made me feel like everything I did was worth it. I don't feel like I made any mistakes in my life because of you. I'd endure hell again if the path lead straight to you. You are everything I need."

"It hurts to be alone. It hurts to be afraid that you'll meet someone and they're gonna walk away from you. It hurts when people are ashamed of who you are or they turn their back on you when you care about them. When you grow up thinking everybody dies and everybody leaves, you live that way and refuse to let people in. But when I met you, everything changed. I forgot about all the pain I was in and only felt happiness when I was around you. Now I'll be around you forever. The woman who changed my life."

Inuyasha and Kagome had gone through a lot on their own and even went through a lot together. The two stuck together to heal each other's scarred skin and wounded hearts. Every moment they dealt with, happy times, sad times and difficult times, led them to a new beginning that started with just two simple words.

"I do."

* * *

**And there you have it! :D hope you enjoyed the fic! Thank you for reading, reviewing, and faving my story! I've got lots more fics on the way!**

**PS: don't forget to check out my newest fic in progress "Alone Like This" !**

**xoxo**

**-VQ**


End file.
